Preventers
by Mackenzie Rose
Summary: Mac just wanted to get close to her brother and to be a Preventer. Too bad they only allow guys. Mac runs into plenty of excitment and trouble when she joins up with the Gundam pilots.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I don't now, never have, and never will own Gundam Wing or the characters in it. I do, however, own Mac, Brian, Sam, and other various characters. I would appreciate if you asked me first before you took them if you wish to do so. I also don't own the song 'Bitch' by Meredith Brooks, and I'm not promoting it. I'm just singing it b/c I like it.  
  
Author's Note: I'm sorry Quatre and Wufei fans. I like to diss them, so I did just a little bit in here. Also, I appreciate any feed back, including flames. I don't mind them. Just give me feed back.  
  
Preventors  
  
"Well, looky here." A voice exclaimed behind the group standing on the balcony. The group didn't need to turn around to know that the overly cheerful voice could only belong to Duo Maxwell. "We have a teen."  
  
"Very observant, Duo." Heero Yuy commented in his ever-monotone voice.  
  
"He signed up and passed. We were very surprised at his abilities." Sally Po informed the group.  
  
"Really?" Duo asked. The group consisted of Chang Wufei, Heero Yuy, Quatre Roberta Winner, Trowa Barton, Duo Maxwell, and their commander, Sally Po. They all looked over the slow moving young adults who wanted to become Preventors.  
  
"The youngest one ever." Trowa commented.  
  
"Hey, Sally, I was thinking," Duo started. "Maybe we ought to let girls join. I mean, look at you and Noin and Hilde."  
  
"No, no, no!" Wufei yelled, the male chauvinist of the group.  
  
Sally raised an eyebrow. "You might be right Duo. But, why do I have the feeling that it's just so you can pick up girls?" Sally asked, trying unsuccessfully to hide her smile.  
  
"Me?! Pick up girls??!!" Duo asked, in mock astonishment. "I already have a girlfriend."  
  
"That's never stopped you before." Heero said. Duo glared at him and Heero smirked.  
  
"Well, I'll certainly give it some serious thought." Sally said. "I really think that it is a good idea."  
  
Duo smirked at a growling Wufei. "Don't worry, Wu-man." Duo said. "I'm sure they'll leave you alone, seeing as they couldn't abide your piggish habits and ugly looks."  
  
"KISSSSAAAMMMMAAAA!!" Wufei yelled swinging at Duo. Duo ducked and walked off the balcony laughing.  
  
"Well, come on, you guys." Sally said, smiling. "It's time to greet the new arrivals." With that, the group made their way down to the main hall.  
  
  
  
"Hey, watch it!" a young teen yelled as someone stepped on their foot.  
  
"You watch it!" the person yelled back. The teen glared at him.  
  
"God, all these older people think they can push us teens around." The teen muttered.  
  
"Hey, girly, watch it!" Somebody yelled at the teen as the teen bumped into somebody.  
  
"Did you just call me a girl?" the teen asked. The older boy sneered.  
  
"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" he asked. The teen didn't have a chance to reply because Sally Po came up to the stand and started talking.  
  
"Welcome boys. I'm glad that you made it this far. Not all of you will make it past next week. We usually lose half our population by the second week. I hope you all work your hardest and I hope you can make it all the way." Sally said. "I want to introduce your trainers. These are the ex-gundam pilots: Heero Yuy," as Sally said each pilot's name, they stepped up. "Duo Maxwell, Trowa Barton, Chang Wufei, and Quatre Winner."  
  
All the pilots waved or nodded to the trainees.  
  
"Which one do you hope you'll have?" a near by boy asked the teen.  
  
"I don't know. Maybe Duo." The teen replied.  
  
"I hope I get Heero." The person said. "Hey, how old are you?"  
  
"16." The teen replied.  
  
"Wow, I didn't know they let teenagers in here." the person said.  
  
"Well, I passed the test." the teen said.  
  
"I'm Sam." The person said.  
  
"I'm Mac," the teen said. They shook hands.  
  
"Well, we won't see you until Monday. So, rest up and get acquainted with the school. See you Monday." Sally said. With that, the group stepped down from the stage and left.  
  
"Hey, Mac. Where's your room?" Sam asked. Mac looked at the card.  
  
"227." Mac said.  
  
"Really? Mine's 225!" Sam said. "That means we're next door neighbors." Sam smiled at Mac. Mac couldn't help but smile back. The two walked to their rooms with their things.  
  
"I'll help you unpack if you help me." Sam offered.  
  
"No thanks." Mac declined. Sam shrugged.  
  
"Okay." Then Sam went into his room and so did Mac. Mac put all her clothes away and then put all her stuff out on the desk.  
  
"Home, sweet home." Mac muttered as she lay down on the bed. "I just hope no one finds out I'm a girl." With that, she turned over and dozed off. 


	2. The Story - Chapter 2

"Hey! Mac! You in there?" someone yelled, pounding on the door. Mac woke up.  
  
"Yeah, one sec." She yelled. She threw a shirt on over her jeans and opened the door to see Sam standing there.  
  
"Hi Mac." He said. Mac couldn't help it. She fell for him. He was wearing a pair of cut off's and a tight white T-shirt. 'I can't let him know. That would be awkward if he thought a boy was falling for him.' Mac thought.  
  
"Hi Sam." Mac said.  
  
"What took you so long to answer?" Sam asked.  
  
"I was asleep." Mac said.  
  
"Oh, well, want to check the place out?" Sam asked. Mac smiled.  
  
"Sure, why not?" and they walked out.  
  
  
  
"Hey, Duo, come here!" Sally said. Duo came over at a trot.  
  
"Yes, o commander?" he asked, in a mocking way. Sally smiled.  
  
"Apparently, someone here is your brother." Sally said. Duo's jaw hit ground level.  
  
"I. have. a. brother?" Duo asked. Sally smiled.  
  
"Apparently." Sally said. "It says that your brother was adopted awhile after you to a family with all boys." Sally handed Duo a folder. "Here, read this. It will tell you more. Right now I'll tell you, that he's 16."  
  
"You mean, the teen. my brother." Duo trailed off. He went over to the couch and sat down reading. Sally smiled and went to tell the others.  
  
Age: 16  
  
Hair: Auburn  
  
Eyes: Hazel (they turn colors with mood)  
  
Weight: N/A  
  
Height: 5' 8"  
  
Ethnicity: American  
  
Name: Mac  
  
Allergies: Tea  
  
Comments:  
  
I'm Duo Maxwell's brother. We were separated when he went to live with the Maxwell's. I went to live with the Robertson's. I inhabited with them for 10 years until I went to stay with some sponsors and then came here.  
  
Duo read this from the folder that Sally gave him. He didn't know what to make of it. He had a brother. A 16-year-old brother. He has red hair, hazel eyes, and is almost as tall as Duo.  
  
"Duo, I hear you have a brother." Heero said. Duo looked up.  
  
"Yeah, from what I read, he's the teen in the group." Duo said, still in shock. "He must have some of me in him."  
  
Heero shook his head. "If he did, he wouldn't have gotten here." Duo hit Heero with the folder. Heero smirked. "So, are you going to go meet him?"  
  
Duo looked as if that idea had never occurred to him. "I guess so." Duo looked at the folder again. "But for right now, I want to finish reading on him. I think it's interesting that I don't remember him." Duo said.  
  
"Well, maybe you just blocked it out." Heero suggested. Duo shrugged and Heero left.  
  
"I remember a girl, but not a boy." Duo murmured.  
  
  
  
"So, I guess this is where I'm going to spend most of my time." Sam said as they entered the pool area. "Do you swim?"  
  
Mac shook her head. "No, I am afraid of the water." This was a lie of course. She loved the water and was a senior lifeguard at the pool at her old inhabitance. But, considering that she was a girl and no one knew that, and that was how it was going to stay, she couldn't go swimming.  
  
"Oh. Well, maybe I could teach you." Sam said. Mac shook her head.  
  
"No, I don't think so. The only water I like is in a glass." Mac said, bringing forth a laugh from Sam.  
  
"Well, can't say I didn't try." Sam said. They walked out of the poolroom and on to the gym.  
  
"This is my place." Mac said. She looked at all the equipment. She spotted fencing swords. She smiled. "Do you fence?" she asked Sam.  
  
"Yeah, I'm pretty good too." Sam boasted. "Do you?"  
  
Mac shrugged. "A little." She said. They suited up and behind the mask, Mac smiled evilly.  
  
"On guard." She murmured. They started fencing and right away, Mac took the lead, but only by a little bit. She wasn't even trying. She remembered her trainers saying, 'Always attack. It's no good just to defend. You're only wearing yourself out, either your going to die by defend or might die by attacking. Always attack."  
  
Mac did just that. She then pulled her favorite move. She did a half moon and brought her sword up before Sam could register and flung his sword out of the picture and was in kill position before Sam knew what hit him.  
  
"You're a liar." Sam said. Mac backed up. She wasn't expecting that.  
  
"What do you mean?" she asked.  
  
"You said you fenced a little. You couldn't have just started. You must have been fencing for years with the pros. You are better than me." Sam accused.  
  
"Is that a compliment?" Mac asked.  
  
"No." Sam said.  
  
"Well, then are you bad?" she asked.  
  
"No, I'm very, very good, but you are better and I don't like that." Sam said. Mac looked to see if he was serious, but his eyes were laughing.  
  
"Well, get over it tough guy." Mac said, playing along. With that she walked out of the gym.and straight into Duo.  
  
"Oh, sorry, ummm.sir. I didn't see you." Mac said, blushing. This was not the reunion she had been planning.  
  
"Don't worry about it, Mac." Duo said. Mac looked up.  
  
"How did you know my name?" she asked.  
  
"I read about you in your folder." Duo said. Mac looked him in the eye.  
  
"Do you believe me?" she asked.  
  
"Yes, I'm just surprised." Duo said. "Let's go somewhere and talk." Duo led the way to an empty room and Mac followed. They both sat down.  
  
"Mac, I know that you were only one or two, but do you remember a girl?" Duo asked. Mac looked down.  
  
"No." she said quietly. She hated lying. She was good at it, and that was the worst part. Duo noticed that she wasn't looking at him, and that puzzled him.  
  
"Well, so, from what your resume said, you obviously didn't like the people you were staying with." Duo said. Mac looked back up at him, grateful he let it go.  
  
"Yes, I hated them. They were mean, and cruel." Mac said. Duo laughed.  
  
"Are you saying that, or is it really true?" Duo asked.  
  
"Both." Mac said. Duo smiled at her. "You see, they weren't mean, they just weren't nice. I think they were in it for the check. So, they had 4 boys and they were all older than me and so I had to hold my own. They would always try to leave me with the girls down the street, but I would run and catch up to them, even when they were on their bikes. I just didn't like them and they didn't like me. I asked if I could take lessons in martial arts and fencing. They were astonished that a g-" Mac gasped. She almost told Duo that she was a girl! "That a kid my age and type would want to."  
  
Duo nodded. "So, that explains why you passed the test with flying colors." Mac nodded.  
  
"I took to the arts right away and surpassed most people," Mac said.  
  
"Aren't we modest," Duo said, smiling. Mac shrugged again.  
  
"There is no use for modesty." She said. Duo laughed and clapped her on the shoulder.  
  
"You and I are going to get along fine," Duo said as he got up. He and Mac walked out the door and Duo said, "You were going to be in my group, but we have to change that so the others don't think I'm babying you because you're my brother."  
  
Mac nodded. "So who'll I be with?" she asked.  
  
"I shouldn't tell you, but I will." Duo said. "You'll be with Heero. Good luck. He's tough."  
  
Mac smiled evilly. Duo looked surprised to see his evil smile on his 'brother's' face. "I can handle it." Mac said. Duo had to smother a laugh and patted her on the shoulder.  
  
"See ya later." Duo said, and turned and walked away. Mac stared after him.  
  
"I have quite a brother." she muttered.  
  
"He's your brother?" Sam asked, coming up behind her.  
  
"God Sam! You scared me! Yes, he is." Mac said. Sam looked at her with wide eyes. "Yeah, he feels the same way."  
  
"Wow, the ex-Shinigami is your brother. I never knew someone famous." Sam said.  
  
Mac rolled her eyes. "First of all, I'm not famous. Second of all, the gundam pilots are famous, in a matter of speaking, so get used to it." With that, she turned around and walked away. 


	3. Chapter 3

"So, did you meet your brother?" Milliardo Peacecraft asked later that day. Mac looked at the computer from her bed. She got up and walked over to it. She sat down at her desk.  
  
"Well, in a matter of speaking." Mac said. Milliardo raised an eyebrow.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.  
  
"Well, I literally ran into him, and then he asked me a few questions and then we parted." Mac said.  
  
"Does he know?" Milliardo asked.  
  
"Milli, does he know what? That I'm a girl? No, he doesn't know that. Does he know I'm his 'brother'? Yes." Mac said.  
  
"Mac, you need to tell him you're a girl." Milliardo said.  
  
"Milli, I can't. Not yet anyway. I need to prove myself first. Once I've done that, I will." Mac pleaded with her sponsor.  
  
"Mac," Milliardo sighed. "You know that always backfires. You have to tell him now, or he'll find out the wrong way. Duo doesn't do well with being lied to, because he never does it."  
  
"I know, I know, but I still want to keep it a secret for awhile longer." Mac said.  
  
"Mac, you are just as stubborn as your brother." Milliardo said. Mac smiled.  
  
"Thanks Milli!" she said. Milliardo tried to look stern.  
  
"But, Mac. If I hear anything but wonderful reports from Sally, you are out of there and back here and working for me and Noin forever!" Milliardo told her. Mac sobered up.  
  
"Okay, Milli. Believe me, you won't." Mac promised.  
  
"Good. You've been known to start fights and lose your temper. Try to keep a rein on it, huh? Try for me and Noin if not for yourself." Milliardo asked her.  
  
"I'll try." Mac promised.  
  
"You have to do it!" Milliardo said.  
  
"Trying is the best I can do with something like this." Mac informed him. "Now, can I talk to Noin?"  
  
Milliardo sighed again. Mac always was difficult. "I suppose." He said. Noin came up on the computer screen in place of Milliardo.  
  
"Hi Noin!" Mac said.  
  
"Hi Mac." Noin said.  
  
"So, has Milli been giving you grief about me coming here?" Mac asked.  
  
"Yes, he keeps saying that a girl shouldn't be in Preventors and that we should send for you right away. I keep telling him that I was a soldier, but you know Milli." Noin said. Mac laughed.  
  
"That sounds like him. I'm glad I met you two. Otherwise I never would have gotten here or out of the Robertson's." Mac said.  
  
"Hey, have you told Duo?" Noin asked.  
  
"Told him what? That I'm a girl? No. Told him I'm his 'brother'? Yes. Or that you and Milli are my sponsors? No. I think he might blow a fuse if I told him that. Then he would go marching up to you guys and ask all about me, and I want to be the one to tell him about me. It's too dangerous to tell him anything besides I'm his 'brother' right now." Mac told Noin.  
  
"You are just as stubborn as your brother!" Noin cried in exasperation. Mac just smiled at her.  
  
"Milli says that if I make just one mistake he'll take me out and I have to go live with you guys. Isn't that a bit harsh?" Mac asked. Noin looked at her.  
  
"I don't think so. I really believe that if you can't handle your temper there, then you can't stay. Although, they might kick you out before Milli can get there if you start a fight like the last one." Noin warned.  
  
Mac winced remembering her last fight. She had been mad because she had just had a fight with her foster units and then someone started making fun of her being an orphan. She had taken out all her anger on that one person and left them in the hospital. That was when she went to Milliardo and Noin because they could train her to do what was right and not lose her temper.  
  
"I understand, Noin. Listen, I gotta go, but I'll talk to you later, okay?" Mac said.  
  
"Yes, that's fine. See ya later." Noin said as they signed off. Mac looked at her blank computer screen. Then, she stood up and got her pack and walked out the door.  
  
She headed down the dark and deserted halls towards the office. She crept quietly down the hallways, hoping she wouldn't wake anyone up. She knew that she would get in trouble if she was caught, but then, she wouldn't get caught.  
  
She picked the lock on the office, and went in. She turned her flashlight on. She went into the file cabinets to see if she could find her file.  
  
"AHA!" she whispered. She opened her file and sat down to read it. She skimmed down from what she wrote to her history.  
  
Stayed with Robertson's for ten years. Then went to unknown friends. While there, subject was taught more martial arts and perfected what subject knew. Subject was taught fencing and how to drive mobile suits. Several hours at a time, subject would disappear and do unknown things.  
  
Mac read only that. She was about to turn the page, when the light was turned on.  
  
"Hey! What are you doing in here?" someone yelled. Mac looked up. Duo was standing in the doorway, blocking her only escape. "Mac?" Duo asked, incredulously.  
  
Mac looked sheepish. "Yes?" she asked meekly.  
  
"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked.  
  
"Looking." She said.  
  
"Looking for what?"  
  
"My file."  
  
"I see you found it. Why are you in here? You aren't supposed to be in here or out of your room." Mac looked back at her hands.  
  
"I just wanted to see what was sent for my history." She mumbled.  
  
"Well, you always could have asked." Duo said. They sat there for a few uncomfortable minutes of silence.  
  
"Duo," Mac said. Duo looked at her. "There are some things that I'm not telling you." Duo lifted a quizzical eyebrow.  
  
"Like what?" Duo asked.  
  
"You have to promise you won't freak out or tell anyone." Mac said.  
  
"I can't promise that." Duo said.  
  
"I know you don't lie, but you don't have to say anything at all." Mac said. "If someone asks you, you can tell the truth, but just don't tell anyone."  
  
Duo considered this. "I can't promise I won't freak out, but I promise I won't tell anyone unless they ask straight on." Duo finally said.  
  
"Duo, you know how you said, that you remembered a girl." Mac said. Duo sat there, waiting for Mac to go on, and then a look of understanding crossed his face.  
  
"You mean." Duo said. Mac nodded. "I don't have a brother, I have a sister?" Mac nodded again. Mac told him about what happened, leaving Noin and Milliardo out. "Is there anything else you are hiding?" Duo asked.  
  
"Yes." Mac said. Duo looked at her expectantly. "Duo, you might not like this." Duo braced himself for the worst.  
  
"Go on." Duo urged her.  
  
"The unknown friends.well they are um. Milli and Noin." Mac said. Duo had braced himself for the worst, but this was beyond the worst for him.  
  
"WHAT?" he roared.  
  
"Shush!" Mac said. Duo sat there panting, trying to let it all sink in. "I got into a really bad fight that left someone in the hospital and so they had to remove me from the foster units. They put me in an orphanage again. Noin came one day just because she wanted to see the kids and she saw me. She said later that she recognized me as someone who looked a lot like you and so she adopted me." Mac explained.  
  
"So, you were staying with Milli and Noin for four years?" Duo asked.  
  
"Yes. Listen, I know that Milli was once your enemy, but he's not anymore and believe me, he does like you gundam pilots." Mac said.  
  
"I know. Lately he's been in touch with us. It's weird because he never would talk to us before, but now since he married Noin, we've all been in touch more. I'm still a little suspicious. So, you're a girl." Duo said.  
  
"How observant of you." Mac said. "I wasn't going to tell you for awhile, but Milli made me. He said that no matter what, that sort of plan always backfires. You would have found out the wrong way because I would get hurt or something where they would notify the whole school. I'm sorry, I didn't want to tell you, but Milli made me." Mac sighed.  
  
"I know. I always have those kind of plans." Duo said. He smiled at his sister. "So, tell me little sister, what happened in these hours of disappearance?"  
  
Mac shook her head. "I have to have some secrets." Duo looked at her, surprised. "I can't tell you now, but I'll tell you when I feel it's time."  
  
"God, you and Heero! You always have secrets and feel like keeping the rest of us in suspense." Duo complained. Mac smiled.  
  
"I like having some secrets." Mac said. Duo rolled his eyes. "The biggest difference between us is that you never lie, and that is one of the best things I do."  
  
Duo looked at her. "Just don't lie to me. In my opinion, that's the coward's way out, but in cases like this, you need to lie. But, not too much longer. You have to tell everyone."  
  
"I know. I plan to. I plan to do it when I graduate." Mac said. Duo shook his head.  
  
"Too late. You have to do it sooner."  
  
"Duo!" Mac whined.  
  
"No, you can wait only till the end of this semester." Duo said firmly.  
  
"Duo! They'll kick me out! I want to do this!" Mac pleaded.  
  
"No. I can't let you lie." Duo said.  
  
"Duuuuoooo!" Mac whined.  
  
"Nope, but I'll let you stay with me if they kick you out.  
  
"I guess that's a fair deal. I still think that you should let me go through with it my way." Mac agreed.  
  
"No, little sis. I've had way too many plans like that. They all backfired." Duo said.  
  
"Oh, you mean like the endless times you tried to self detonate but it never worked?" Mac asked evilly. Duo looked at her in surprise.  
  
"How-how did you know about that?" Duo asked. Mac smiled evilly.  
  
"You'd be surprised how many people were watching. The Dr. told me about the time when you tried to blow up you and everyone else one time. Oh, and so many more!" Mac said. With that she walked out the door. She turned around and winked at Duo. Then, she made her way back to her room. Duo sat there in shock.  
  
"You have one hell of a sister." A voice said behind Duo. Duo whirled around. Heero stood in the corner, smirking.  
  
"You're tellin' me!" Duo said. Heero just kept smirking.  
  
"So, you aren't the only one to know about your humiliating failure with your plans. To top it off, you admitted it." Heero said, rubbing it in.  
  
Duo made a face. "Yeah, yeah, just don't tell anyone, okay?"  
  
"Maybe." Heero said and walked out the door. Duo buried his face in his hands.  
  
"What have I gotten into?" Duo muttered. 


	4. Chapter 4

"MAC! Mac, wake up! Today's the day!" somebody pounded on the door and yelled.  
  
Mac groaned and pulled herself out of bed. She dragged herself over to the door and opened it. "What?" she asked.  
  
"Today is the day! Today we begin our training! Aren't you excited?" Mac looked at the overly cheerful face.  
  
"Sam, it's only six thirty. I'm not excited until at least eight." Mac said.  
  
"Well, not anymore! We have to be downstairs in ten minutes for breakfast." Sam said.  
  
Mac groaned again and shut the door in Sam's face. She had to get dressed. She mumbled as she pulled on her jeans and sweatshirt. She quickly ran a brush through her short hair. She walked out the door to find Sam sitting across the hall on a bench. He smiled at her as she came out.  
  
"Hi Mac. Are you more awake now?" he asked.  
  
"I would have been more awake if I could have taken a shower." Mac grumbled.  
  
"I thought you took one last night!" Sam exclaimed.  
  
"I did, but I still would have woken up sooner." Mac said. Sam laughed. They made their way to the cafeteria and sat down to eat. Mac only grabbed a small something because she wasn't a breakfast eater, but Sam on the other hand, had gotten almost everything there. They ate quickly so they could go to the classes.  
  
"Where do we go first?" Mac asked as they walked out of the cafeteria.  
  
"We go to the gym." Sam said. "I'm glad we both got Heero."  
  
"Yeah, well, I heard he's tough." Mac said.  
  
"Well, then we got to be tough to." Sam said, opening the door. They walked in the gym. A bunch of boys were already fooling around.  
  
"Hey! Look! It's the baby!" a boy yelled. All heads turned towards Sam and Mac. Mac glared at them all. One boy stepped up.  
  
"Hey, baby, can you keep up with the big boys?" he asked mockingly.  
  
"You wanna see me?" she asked, voice low and dangerous. The boy looked at all his friends for support.  
  
"Ohhhhh, tough guy." he said. Mac was about to step forward to punch him, when she remembered Milliardo's warning and how Noin backed him up.  
  
"You're not worth my time." Mac said. She was about to walk past him, when he attempted to punch her in the stomach. She grabbed his hand and twisted. He howled in pain and she just kept twisting for a few more seconds and then gave an extra hard twist and said, "Don't try it again, tough guy."  
  
She shoved him away. He stumbled backwards, holding his wrist. Sam smiled and ran up to Mac.  
  
"That was some show," he said.  
  
"I wasn't looking for a show. I was just stopping him from punching me." Mac said. She and Sam sat down as Heero came walking through the door.  
  
"All right, trainees. Sit down over here." Heero said, pointing to the floor in front of him. Everybody came and sat down in front of him. "I'm Heero Yuy, your trainer. I want you to know I'm tough. I push you. I won't stand for lack of effort. You are in my group because you were in the top of the test. Most likely, we will lose half of you by the second week from behavior to lack of effort. Not all of you will make it. If you don't or won't, we will boot you. Now, let's start with a few laps around the gym." Heero finished and the group got up and started jogging around the gym. Heero stood in the middle so he could make sure everyone was running.  
  
"Wow, barely two minutes into class, and we're already running." Sam said.  
  
"I'm not surprised." Mac said. Sam just shrugged and they continued running in silence.  
  
"All right, everyone. Come sit down." Heero said. Everyone came and sat down again. "Now, I'm going to test your abilities. I don't know your work habits, so I need to learn them. I'll go in alphabetical order. Starting with Andrew." A boy with dark brown hair got up and followed Heero over to the equipment.  
  
Sam and Mac started talking about nothing in particular to pass the time. Heero called out names to test. Sam went fourth. When he came back, he was sweating.  
  
"What did you have to do?" Mac asked him.  
  
"I had to do push ups, sit ups, lift weights, and more." Sam said. Mac nodded. She still was waking up.  
  
"Mac." Heero called. Mac got up and walked over to him. "Do as many push ups as you can or until I stop you." As Mac started doing push ups, Heero looked at her. "I saw how you handled Joe earlier." Mac grunted in response. "Good choice." Heero said.  
  
Heero stopped her after awhile and had her do other exercises. "Can you fence?" Heero asked. Mac nodded. "Good. I'll have you fence with me soon. Can you do any martial arts?" Mac's eyes lit up.  
  
"Yes." she said. Heero put on big mitts that looked a little like huge baseball mitts.  
  
"I want you to punch and kick these mitts. Don't try to hit me, try to hit the mitts." Heero said. Mac crouched and did some of her favorite moves. When she finished, Heero nodded. "Good." he said. "Good job, Mac." Heero leaned over to her. "Especially for a girl."  
  
Mac's eyes went wide. Before she could ask how he knew or reply at all, he called for the next boy. She numbly walked back over to Sam and sat.  
  
"What's the matter with you? You look like you saw a ghost. Heero didn't push you that hard, did he?" Sam asked. Mac shook her head.  
  
"I have to go see someone," was all she said. Sam just looked at her as she got up. The bell rang.  
  
"Class dismissed. Tomorrow I will test the rest of you and the ones I already did will be working on something." Heero said. Mac walked out of the room. She started walking towards the office.  
  
"Hey! Mac, where're you going? The cafeteria is this way." Sam called.  
  
"I need to go see my brother!" Mac yelled as she walked into the office. "General Sally?" Mac asked the lady at the desk.  
  
"Yes." Sally looked up. "Mac is it?"  
  
"Yeah, is my brother here?" she asked. Sally pointed towards the mini kitchen in the office. Mac flashed Sally a smile and walked in there.  
  
"Duo!" Mac said. Duo turned around from his position crouching in the doorway of the fridge. He had some food in each hand and food all over his mouth. He swallowed what he had in his mouth.  
  
"Hey lil sis!" he said. She glared at him.  
  
"Duo Maxwell, I can't believe you can't keep that overly loud, large mouth shut!" Mac said to him.  
  
"What do you mean?" Duo asked. She glared more.  
  
"How the hell does Heero know that I'm a girl?" she hissed.  
  
"He was in the corner while you were confessing. Don't blame me! He was the one who sneaked in." Duo said. Mac still was glaring at her piggish big brother.  
  
"And you, the Shinigami, couldn't tell that he was there?" she demanded. Duo shrugged, stuffing a chicken leg in his mouth.  
  
"He's the Perfect Soldier. I can't detect him." Duo said, through a mouth full of chicken. Mac sighed dramatically.  
  
"I can't get through to an animal!" she cried as she turned around and walked out the door.  
  
"How'd it go?" Sally asked Mac.  
  
"I found out that I don't have a brother." Mac said. Sally raised an eyebrow. "I have a pig!" Mac exclaimed. Sally threw her head back and laughed.  
  
Mac could hear Sally laughing all the way down the hall. She turned into the cafeteria and got her food. She found Sam and sat down with him.  
  
"Where do we go next?" she asked.  
  
"I go to the hangar to learn about mobile suits. I don't know where you go." Sam said. Mac fished around in her pocket. She picked out her schedule.  
  
"I go." she made a face. "I go to Duo and Heero for extra training."  
  
"Why don't you go to mobile suits?" Sam asked.  
  
"Because I can already operate one." Mac said. Sam grumbled about not wanting to go. The bell rang again and the two picked up their things and went to each of their classes.  
  
Mac went out into the field in back. She saw two figures talking. Well, one was talking and the other one was trying to ignore the other. Mac smiled. That was Duo and Heero. Duo turned around to see Mac. He waved fervently.  
  
"HI MACKEY!" he yelled. Mac rolled her eyes. Duo trotted up to her. "Hi Mac!" he said again.  
  
"Don't EVER call me Macky." Mac said. Duo laughed and threw an arm around her shoulders. They walked over to Heero together.  
  
Mac glared at Heero. "Are you going to tell?" she asked, coldly.  
  
"Maybe." he said, just as cold as Mac.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.  
  
"Maybe." he repeated. Mac glared more at him. He turned on Death Glare TM and she didn't even flinch.  
  
"Whoa! Let's break up this little love fest!" Duo said, stepping between them. "Mac, Heero won't tell. He's one for secrets too. Heero, Mac will give you no reason to tell. Now, lets get going on the training."  
  
Mac and Heero broke their gaze and followed Duo.  
  
"Mac, I want you to fight me." Duo said. Mac looked at him like he had grown two heads. "No, I mean like, we'll fight with the rules. I want to see your abilities."  
  
"Okay." Mac said. She and Duo went into a fighting crouch. She let Duo throw the first punch. She caught it and twisted him over her hip. He landed on his feet. She watched his torso. She remembered Milliardo telling her that she could always tell the next move by the movements in the chest.  
  
Duo's left side moved just a little bit. Mac took this sign and when Duo threw the punch, she ducked and went on the floor and swept his feet out from under him. Duo stayed down.  
  
"I can't believe I fell for that one." Duo said. "That's Heero's trademark move, and I fell for it." Duo got up. "You're pretty good." Duo said.  
  
"Thank you." Mac said, her face spreading into an evil grin. "Now, just remember that next time you feel like you want to pick on your baby sister."  
  
  
  
"So, how was your day?" Sam asked Mac later that day.  
  
"It was good. I like my schedule. Breakfast, Heero's training, lunch, extra training, free time, dinner, free time, bed." Mac said.  
  
"So, do you want to go to the pool afterwards?" Sam asked.  
  
"Sam, I told you, I don't do swimming." Mac said.  
  
"I know, but you should face your fears. I could teach you. I promise, I won't make fun of you." Sam said. Mac sighed.  
  
"I'll come to the pool, but I won't get in." Mac said.  
  
"Okay, just wear your bathing suit." Sam said.  
  
"Oh, no. No bathing suit." Mac said.  
  
"Come on! I won't make you get in, just so that you can get the feel of it." Sam said.  
  
"No, I might dip my feet in, but I won't get in." Mac said.  
  
"Well, I suppose that's as far as I'm going to get you for now." Sam said.  
  
"Glad you noticed." Mac said. They got up and went to go get ready. Mac went into her room and got on the computer. She had a few emails.  
  
Mac:  
  
How's everything? Does your brother know yet? I really think you should tell him. He probably will make you tell everyone, but that's not bad. Didn't Sally say that next year they were going to let girls in? Well, why not a year early? You know your stuff. You don't need to be hiding behind a mask. Just don't tell them about the presents. I just don't want that out yet. Duo's going to be so happy about that.  
  
Love you!  
  
Noin  
  
Mac replied and sent it. She read her other mail, just junk mail. Then she got a book and changed into shorts. She walked out the door. She knocked on Sam's door.  
  
"It's open!" Sam yelled from inside. Mac opened the door and walked in. Sam was in his bathing suit and getting his towel. Mac blushed when she saw him. He wasn't wearing a shirt obviously.  
  
'I hate it when I blush.' She thought.  
  
"Ready?" he asked. Mac nodded. They walked out towards the pool.  
  
"Hey Sam?" Mac asked.  
  
"What?" he asked.  
  
"How old are you?" she asked.  
  
"I just turned 20." he answered. "Why?"  
  
"Oh, just asking." Mac said. They went into the poolroom and saw it was just a little crowded. Mac found an empty chair and pulled it up to the pool edge. She dipped her feet in the cool water.  
  
Sam jumped in right by her and splashed her.  
  
"SAM!" she yelped. He laughed maniacally. She stuck her tongue out at him, and then opened her book.  
  
As she started to read, she felt a big splash aimed at her. She looked up ready to yell at Sam, but it wasn't Sam. It was that Joe kid from that morning.  
  
"Hey. Well, what do you know? It's the little baby boy!" Joe said.  
  
"Oh, get a life." Mac said.  
  
"Excuse me?" he asked. "Wanna come in here to my face and say that?"  
  
"No, but if you're looking for a fight, you can come to me." Mac said, calmly. Joe started toward her, and Sam came up to him.  
  
"Leave him alone." Sam said. Joe looked at Sam.  
  
Just then, Wufei came in. "All right weaklings! No fighting on my shift!" he said. The boys backed away from each other, glaring.  
  
Mac went back to her reading. Joe passed her later.  
  
"I'll get you." he threatened. "I'll get you in the pool, where you obviously don't want to be."  
  
Mac just glared at him. "Whatever." she said. She had just made her first enemy. 


	5. Chapter 5

The days passed by in a blur. Days turned into weeks and soon the weeks turned into months.  
  
"So, Mac, when are you going to tell Sally?" Duo asked a few months later.  
  
"I don't know. I was kind of hoping you'd do it for me." Mac said. Duo shook his head.  
  
"Nope, sorry sis. Can't do that." he said.  
  
"I didn't think so." Mac said. She got up off of Duo's chair in his room. "I'll see ya later, Duo. I want to go finish my free time with Sam. He's been trying to get me to go in the pool, but you know, with my predicament, I can't exactly do that. Also, it's fun to turn him down." Mac said. She winked at Duo as she left his room. He shook his head.  
  
"What a sister." he said. Mac headed down the hall and went into the poolroom.  
  
"Where's Wufei?" she asked Sam.  
  
"He isn't here right now." Sam said. "Will you come in the pool now?"  
  
"No." she said. Sam shrugged and went over with the other guys. Mac laid her head back and closed her eyes. She felt a presence behind her and was about to peek open an eye, when her chair was shoved in the water. She went under and came up sputtering.  
  
"WHAT THE HELL?" she yelled. She looked up. Joe was standing there, smirking. She stood fully up to take him on, when his face vaulted. He looked at her in astonishment.  
  
Everyone else had gathered around to see what was going to happen and they were gaping in astonishment too. Mac looked around to see what they were staring at, and saw Joe looking below her face.  
  
She blushed and remembered. They were all looking at her chest. She got out and grabbed a towel and walked out, running right into Wufei.  
  
"Mac! What are you doing?" he asked. She mumbled sorry and brushed past him. Her shirt and shorts were clinging to her body. She heard footsteps behind her. She didn't turn around, just sped up. She went for the nearest exit.  
  
She walked out into the cold winter night air. She just kept walking, not stopping. She didn't know where she was walking until she came to a halt in the hangar. She climbed up into a loft and sat there warming up. The door opened.  
  
"Wow." Sam said.  
  
"Are you surprised?" Mac asked.  
  
"Kind of, but I guess I knew." he replied.  
  
"How?" she asked.  
  
"I don't know. The way you act is kind of girlish and the way you walk is not exactly the way boys walk. You kind of swing you hips, but you don't.I don't know.what's the old-fashioned word? Swagger." Sam said.  
  
"Oh." Mac said. They sat there in silence for a while before Duo came in.  
  
"Sam, can I have a few minutes alone with her?" Duo asked. Sam nodded and got up and walked out. Duo looked at her. "I love saying this, I told you so."  
  
Mac made a face at him. "It's not like I meant for it to happen."  
  
"That's what I was telling you before. But, no! We have to be a big girl and not listen to our older, smarter brother! We have to do everything ourselves." Duo said.  
  
"Word gets around fast, huh?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, I was in the office when Wufei came in sputtering and mad about some girl and me and it's all my fault." Duo said.  
  
Mac winced. "Are you going to be in trouble?"  
  
"No, I'm going to deny it all." Duo said.  
  
"No you're not. You never lie." Mac teased.  
  
"I know, but I'm not going to take the rap for you. You're going to tell Sally everything and you're not going to blame it on me or Heero or Milli or Noin. It's all your idea." Duo said.  
  
"Oh, gee, thanks. I really appreciate it." Mac said, dryly.  
  
"Hey, it's not my fault that you chose the hard way. If you don't tell Sally, I will. You don't want me to. If I have to, I'm going to make your life with me a living hell." Duo threatened.  
  
"Don't worry. I'm going to tell her." Mac promised. Duo smiled.  
  
"I know." he said. "Now, let's go tell her."  
  
"Can't we wait until morning?" Mac asked as Duo pulled her out of the chair and back to the main building.  
  
"Nope. You're going to do this tonight." Duo said firmly. Mac groaned.  
  
Duo walked into the office and shoved Mac in front of him. He mocked saluted to Sally and walked out the door.  
  
"So, Mac. Is there something you'd like to tell me?" Sally asked.  
  
"Well, Duo said if I don't tell you tonight, then he's going to do it and then he's going to make my life a living hell." Mac said. Then she launched into her explanation.  
  
When she finished, she took a deep breath. She looked at Sally expectantly.  
  
"Well, what can I say?" Sally said. "I have to punish you-"  
  
Mac didn't let her finish. "Oh, please Ms. Sally!" she pleaded. "Don't expel me! If you do, I have two options. They are live with Duo, which means that I would live in hell. I don't know how, but that's the way he said that my life would be. Or, I could live with Milli and Noin again. I know they backed me up on this, but still, Milli wasn't happy about me going as a boy in the first place and he won't let me forget it! Noin tried to get me to tell you before because she and Milli knew that I had one of those, 'always backfires' plans, and they tried to get me to come clean. They said that it's better to get kicked out because I'm a girl, than get kicked out because something happened and my plan blew up in my face. So, please, oh please don't expel me!" Mac looked at Sally with pleading eyes.  
  
Sally had to bite back a laugh. "Looks as if the whole world is against you right now." she told Mac. Mac nodded. "Well," Sally sighed. "I won't expel you. And, I wasn't going to. However, I will suspend you." Mac's face fell. "I need to." Sally explained. "I need to show that people can't just go and break the rules at my school."  
  
Mac nodded. "I understand. How long?" she asked. Sally was busy writing a note to Milliardo.  
  
"A week." Sally said, not looking up. Mac tried not to look surprised. Mac nodded and thanked Sally and turned to leave. "Mac," Sally said. Mac turned around. "Do you want to tell Milliardo, or should I?"  
  
"You." Mac said impulsively. "And, Ms. Sally?"  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"Could you tell him that my visual phone is "out of order"?" Mac asked. Sally smiled.  
  
"Sure. I probably wouldn't want to talk to him right away either." Sally said. Mac smiled weakly and walked out the door. She was walking down the hallway towards her room when Sam came up to her.  
  
"Hey. How was it?" he asked. Mac shrugged, trying to fight back tears.  
  
"I'm suspended for a week." Mac answered. Sam whistled.  
  
"Now, wait a minute." he said. "I thought your sponsor was behind you on this. I didn't think they would be mad."  
  
"They won't be mad that I masqueraded. They'll be mad that I didn't tell Sally right away. They wanted me to live it clean and straight up." Mac said.  
  
"I still don't understand." Sam said. "Okay, they let you come here, and pretend that you were a boy, right?" Mac nodded. "And then, you told Duo, and he wasn't mad right?" Mac nodded. "Then, they all told you to confess and you didn't, right?" Mac nodded again. "So they wanted you to get here, and immediately tell Sally so that she could kick you out?"  
  
"They all believed that she would have understand and let me stay." Mac said.  
  
"So why didn't they just let you come as a girl?" Sam asked.  
  
"The people wouldn't have even let me sign up then. So, they agreed to me pretending to be a boy until I got in, then I had to 'fess up." Mac said. Sam nodded.  
  
"I see. It makes sense now." Sam said. "Listen, I got to go, but I'll see ya later." Mac nodded and Sam walked away. Mac walked up to her door, and then just rest her head on it. She was about to open it when someone stepped up behind her.  
  
"I don't want to talk right now, Duo." Mac said, without turning around.  
  
"You don't have to." A non-Duo voice said. Mac whirled around. Joe stood there sneering.  
  
"Now is really not the time to pick on me." Mac told him.  
  
"That's what makes it even more fun," he said. Mac glared at him. "So, now we have a double negative." he said to her. "You are a kid and a girl. Even worse. Go home, baby. You'll never keep up with the big boys." Mac's fists clenched.  
  
"Wanna bet?" she asked.  
  
"Sure." he challenged. He lunged at her and she merely stepped aside. She smiled as he crashed into the wall.  
  
He got back up and looked at her, eyes flashing. He swung at her and she ducked. This sort of thing went on for a few more minutes.  
  
"Listen here, girly. You aren't fit to be here. We all know that you didn't even pass the test, but that you got in because Duo's your brother." Joe said. 'Focus. Focus Mac.' Mac thought. 'Don't let him get you angry.'  
  
"How ironic." Joe said. "You pretend that you're a boy, and your brother pretends that he's a girl. What's wrong with your family?"  
  
Now, it was getting hard to control her temper. She was trying not to get mad, but Joe was making fun of her family.  
  
"Were your parents druggies or something? Oh, wait, that's right! Your parents didn't want two scrawny little brats so they left you at an orphanage." Joe exclaimed.  
  
Mac was sure she was going to blow up. Joe sneer grew when he realized that he had successfully struck a nerve.  
  
"That was low." she growled. While Joe was basking in his glory, Mac rammed into his solar plexus. He backed up, gasping for breath.  
  
Mac didn't give him time to recover. She wanted this over; she didn't want to drag it out. She struck him on the soft spot right below his neck. He dropped unconscious. Mac brushed off her hands and unlocked her door and went in.  
  
She saw that Sally had obviously already contacted Milliardo because she hadn't turned her computer off yet and Milliardo had tried to contact her. Mac opened the email that Milliardo had sent her.  
  
I told you so! Those plans always backfire and you wouldn't listen! Even DUO told you that! But, NO! You couldn't believe the people who were older and wiser! NO, you had to do it yourself! Well, congrats young lady! You got yourself suspended. I know that your phone is working; you just don't want to talk to me yet. Well, you're not going to be able to avoid it when you come home.  
  
Hi honey. This is Noin. I kicked Milliardo off the computer because he was practically breaking the keys. We'll see you tomorrow.  
  
Milliardo and Noin  
  
Mac sighed and finished packing a few things for home that she needed. She fell on her bed and did something that she only let herself do a few days a year. She cried. 


	6. Chapter 6

"Excuse me miss." An attendant said to Mac the next day. Mac looked at him. "We're here."  
  
Mac nodded and got up. She got her bag and walked out of the carrier. She stepped down to find Noin and Milliardo waiting for her. She walked up to them.  
  
"Hi." she said. Noin hugged her and they went back to their house.  
  
When they got there, they all sat down. "Listen, I don't know why you are mad. I mean, you knew that I was pretending to be a boy and that I didn't tell Sally, so why are you so mad?" Mac asked.  
  
Milliardo sighed. "Because, we told you to tell her and you didn't," he said.  
  
"No, I did." Mac said. Milliardo gave her a look.  
  
"Yeah, after she found out the wrong way." He sighed again. "Oh well, while you're here, we can test out your surprise."  
  
Mac's face lit up. "It's done! Yes!" she yelled. She hugged Milliardo and ran up the stairs to her room.  
  
"I hate to tell you this, Milliardo." Noin said, sitting closer to him. "You are a softy." Milliardo snorted. He hugged Noin.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, just don't tell anyone."  
  
  
  
The next day, Mac came bounding down the stairs in her regular clothes.  
  
"Morning Milli!" she said. "Yoink!" she cried as she tugged his platinum blonde hair.  
  
"Hey! Watch the hair!" he said as he poured himself another cup of coffee.  
  
"When can I go see Divinity?" she asked him.  
  
"Kedzie Rose, you have to chill." Milliardo said.  
  
"Well, when? When, when, when, when?" she bounced around and around him in a circle. He reached out and pushed her down in a chair.  
  
"As soon as you calm down and eat breakfast." he said.  
  
"Oh, Milli!" she groaned. "You know I'm not a breakfast eater."  
  
"Here, we even got granola for you." he said. She squealed and hugged him and got the box of granola.  
  
"Okay, I have my breakfast, I've calmed down, can we go?" she asked.  
  
"I don't want you to eat on the go." he told her.  
  
"Milli," Mac said, putting a hand on her hip. "You can't eat granola sitting down. You have to eat it on the go. Besides, you know there won't be any for later."  
  
Milliardo sighed. "I sigh more then I ever have in my life since you came around." Mac smiled. "Lets go."  
  
Mac grabbed her box of granola from the counter and walked out the door. She practically ran down the halls to the room that had the surprises in it.  
  
Mac typed in the code and walked in. She looked around the enormous room at the gigantic figures.  
  
"Are they all finished?" she asked Milliardo, pouring half the box of granola in her mouth at once.  
  
"Yep. We're going to take them down when we take you back." he replied, watching her in disgust. Mac gasped as she saw the figure she was looking for.  
  
"Divinity!" she cried, dropping the granola. She ran towards the figure. She hugged her gundam's leg.  
  
"Morning Mac." Noin said, coming up from behind her.  
  
"Morning Noin." she said.  
  
"Mac, I have another surprise for you." Noin said.  
  
"Nothing could be better than Divinity." Mac told her.  
  
"Well, we'll see." Noin said.  
  
"Hey Kedzie." A voice said behind her. Mac gasped. She whirled around.  
  
"I knew it would get you off your gundam." Noin said. Mac's death grip transferred from her gundam to the speaker.  
  
"Brian!" she squealed. The tall boy stumbled backwards as Mac hug-tackled him.  
  
"I told you she didn't forget you." Milliardo said.  
  
"Obviously your right." Brian said. He tried to pick the girl off him. "Did you miss me?"  
  
Mac looked at him. "Yes. Did you miss me?"  
  
"Oh, sort of, but I kept myself busy. You know, I found girls to be with, and surprisingly enough, it was easy to forget about my favorite 'little sister'" Brian said. Mac punched him in the arm playfully.  
  
"You couldn't forget me if your life depended on it." She told him.  
  
"You're right. You leave too big of a mark in peoples lives." Brian said. "How was your short time at the Preventors?"  
  
"It's good. I like being a Preventor." Mac said.  
  
"So, you're there barely a semester, and you got suspended." Brian teased. "What am I going to do with you, my Kedzie?"  
  
"Don't rub it in. It's not my fault that I beat some kid to a pulp." Mac said, teasing back. "I mean, it's not that bad, his arm will be okay, eventually. By next year, he will be able to move it."  
  
Milliardo's eyes grew large. "You did WHAT?" he yelled.  
  
Mac laughed. "Oh, Milli, Milli. You fall for that one every time." She high- fived Brian. "So, Bri, what's happened here? I mean, nothing exciting without me, that's for sure." Mac asked.  
  
"You're right, for once. Nothing exciting. Me 'n' Jen broke up, but I'm going out with Anne now." Brian said. Mac rolled her eyes.  
  
"You and your love life. It's worse than a soap opera." Mac complained.  
  
"Are you jealous?" Brian asked.  
  
"Brian, you are more like a brother to me. If I wanted to go out with you, it's practically like me going out with.Milli." Mac said.  
  
"I find that insulting." Brian said. "I mean, I'm not as old or ugly as Milliardo."  
  
Milliardo glared at Brian. "No offense Milli." Brian said. Mac laughed.  
  
"Well, you're just a brother to me, not a boyfriend." Mac said. Brian hugged her.  
  
"I know. I was just kidding. So, you have to tell me if you met somebody special there." Brian said.  
  
"Brian, I'm not you. I don't go somewhere, and immediately try to look for a hook up." Mac said. "Besides, I was a boy, remember? It would've been awkward if I tried to hook up with another boy."  
  
Brian laughed. "I'm glad you're back, Kedzie." They walked over to the chairs to sit and talk.  
  
"How was everybody without me?" Mac asked.  
  
"Milli was in tears. He was grouchy and crabby and Noin was tired of trying to calm his always ready temper." Brian said.  
  
"Are you serious?" Mac asked in disbelief.  
  
"Yes, except for the tears part." Brian nodded.  
  
"Wow." Mac said. "Anybody else?" Mac asked casually.  
  
"You mean, Zach?" Brian asked suspiciously.  
  
"No, what would give you that idea?" Mac asked.  
  
"Oh, I don't know, the way you look at him."  
  
"Is it that obvious?" she asked.  
  
"To me. But, that's because I'm your big brother." Brian said. "Speaking of brothers, did you talk to your real brother?"  
  
"Um-hm." Mac said. "We talked and he immediately took the part."  
  
Brian laughed. "You mean, he teases you and calls you lil sis all the time and calls you little pet names that you despise?"  
  
"Yes, and you would know perfectly, wouldn't you?" Mac asked, bitterly.  
  
"Yes, I would." Brian said. "Maybe Duo and I need to get together so I can give him some tips."  
  
"Don't you dare! I can handle you alone, but barely and I can handle Duo alone, but barely, but I can't handle you together!" Mac exclaimed.  
  
Brian smiled and laughed evilly. "OOOO, even better." Mac playfully punched his shoulder.  
  
"So, you never did answer my question about Zach." Mac said.  
  
"Hmmm, should I keep you in suspense or should I tell you right away?" Brian teased.  
  
"Now." Mac said threateningly.  
  
"Oh, but it's ever so much fun to hold you in suspense!" Brian said.  
  
"Fine, I'll go ask Noin." Mac said.  
  
"But, Noin isn't friends with Zach." Brian said.  
  
"I know, but you're being mean." Mac said.  
  
"All right, I'll tell you if you're going to be a baby about it." Brian said.  
  
"Good." Mac said, plopping herself back down on the chair.  
  
"WELL, he's been good. He keeps working and going to school and ya know, doing stuff." Brian said vaguely.  
  
"BRIAN!" Mac whined. Brian laughed again.  
  
"Okay, okay. He's been asking about you. He's always wanting to know if you are coming back soon, if you are then when, and.will I hook you up with him." Brian said. Mac squealed.  
  
"God! He likes me too!" she screamed. Noin and Milliardo and all the workers looked puzzled over at her. Mac got up and skipped around the enormous room again and again.  
  
Noin caught her arm. "Okay, who's the boy?"  
  
"You know how I was telling you about Zach Miller?" Mac asked. Noin nodded. "Well, I asked Brian about him, and Brian said that Zach has been asking about me!"  
  
"Well, go ask him out!" Noin said. Milliardo came up to them.  
  
"Noin, love, you don't go asking a boy out. You have to wait and see if they will ask you out," he said.  
  
"Oh get real Milliardo!" Noin said. "If we had to wait for you men to ask us out, we would never get anywhere. You just are too chicken." Mac giggled. She left them arguing about who was right.  
  
She went over to her gundam to see it again. She found someone over there. She walked up to the figure. The figure turned around.  
  
"Hi Mackenzie." Zach said.  
  
"Please, Zach, either Kedzie or Mac. I hate Mackenzie." Mac told him.  
  
"Okay Mac." He said.  
  
"Listen, Zach, I was wondering if you wanted to grab something to eat later?" Mac asked. Zach's eyes lit up, but the tried to look cool.  
  
"Yeah, sure."  
  
"Okay, good." They stood there in uncomfortable silence for a few moments.  
  
"So, what do you think of the finished product?" Zach asked Mac, gesturing towards Divinity.  
  
"I love it!" Mac said, hugging her gundam. "I'm so happy she's done."  
  
"Glad you like it. Listen, I asked if I could put something in it for you." Zach said. Mac's eyes lit up. "I put in a stereo system so you can blast music in there and even out into space if you wanted to."  
  
Mac threw herself at Zach and hugged him. He stumbled back, surprised and she let go. "Oh, sorry!" she mumbled. "I was just excited. Thank you so much!"  
  
"It's okay. Glad you like it." Zach said. "I gotta go. I'll see ya later."  
  
"Okay, bye." Mac said. As soon as Zach walked out of the room, Mac swaggered over to Brian with a cocky grin on her face.  
  
Brian looked up at her from where he was working on something. "You asked him out, didn't you." It was a statement, not a question.  
  
"Oh yeeea!" she said, emphasizing the 'e'. Brian sighed and stood up.  
  
"You shouldn't have done that. You probably hurt his pride and now he'll never say yes. Let me guess," Brian said, "he said, 'let me think about it.' Or 'I need to check with my folks/calendar.'? Right?"  
  
"Wrong. He said yes!" Mac squealed. She jumped up and down. Brian stood there in shock. Mac stopped jumping up and down and put the cocky grin back on her face. "Maybe you should stick to girls."  
  
With that, she walked out the door, swinging her hips. When she got to the door, she jumped up and squealed and ran. Milliardo came over, wiping his hands on a cloth.  
  
"She asked him out, huh?" he asked. Brian stammered.  
  
"I guess so." He finally got out. Milliardo shook his head.  
  
"With girls like her, this universe will never be male dominated." Milliardo sighed in unison with Brian.  
  
  
  
"What do you think Duo's going to think of his gundam?" Mac asked Milliardo that night.  
  
"I think he's going to faint like a girl." Milliardo said. Mac glared at him.  
  
"I resent that. I've never fainted in my life." she told him.  
  
"Fine, sorry. I'm going to bed and so are you young lady." Milliardo commanded. Mac groaned from her position up on Divinity's arm.  
  
"Oh, c'mon Milli!" she whined. Milliardo shook his head. Mac climbed down Divinity's body and landed right in front of Milliardo. "Do I have to?"  
  
"Yes." Milliardo gently guided her out the door and to their house. When they came in, the house was dark. Milliardo put a finger to his lips as they took their shoes. "Good night Mackenzie Rose."  
  
"Night Milli." she whispered back. Mac went into her room and immediately fell asleep.  
  
"Psst! Pssssttt!" someone said. Mac rolled over in her sleep. "Hey, Kedzie!" Mac still didn't take notice of the shape in her window. The person tapped on the window again. "KEDZIE!" the person whisper-shouted.  
  
Mac just turned again, muttering something. "Damn, that girl is a hard sleeper." the figure muttered as they looked around. They couldn't find anything to try to get the sleeping girl's attention, so they attempted to open the window.  
  
The window was unlocked, but it was stuck. The figure tried to open it again, and they tugged and finally got it. As it flew open, they swore as it just barely missed them.  
  
"Damn swinging windows." The figure swore loudly as the window closed back up. Mac sat up immediately, sweating and panting, with a cry. She put her head in her hands.  
  
"Psssst! Kedzie!" the figure said. Mac's head snapped up and she looked at the window. She ran over there and looked out the window. She realized who it was, and swung open the window. The window hit the figure square in the torso and pushed him off the roof.  
  
The figure hit the ground with an "Ooff". "Omigod!" Mac yelled. She hurriedly ran out the door and down the stairs and out. "Omigod! Brian are you okay?"  
  
"Ugh." he grunted. Mac threw herself on him, hugging him.  
  
"Good!" she mumbled through his clothes. Then she sat up. "What the hell are you doing here?"  
  
Brian struggled to sit up. "I wanted to tell you, that I could take you somewhere to have a little fun." Mac looked skeptical.  
  
"What kind of fun?" she asked. Brian smiled.  
  
"Get into your dancing outfit." he said.  
  
"Now?" she asked, astonished.  
  
"Why not?" Brian retorted.  
  
"Oh, I don't know!" Mac said, dramatically. "Because I'm suspended and not supposed to be gallivanting around the town, and it's already 11:30, and DAMN I sound like Milli! I'll be right back." Mac ran back into the house and was out again in a few seconds wearing a greenish-silverish looking color. She was wearing a pair of tight flare pants and a tube top of the same color.  
  
"Nice outfit. I haven't seen these." Brian said, as they made their way to the club.  
  
"It's new." Mac said.  
  
"Right, so. Do I get one dance?" Brian asked.  
  
"Nope, I'm dancing tonight. No little things. I haven't danced in a long time." Mac said. "I just might get buzzed too."  
  
"Oh no. I may take you places late at night, but I won't let you drink." Brian said.  
  
"Oh well. I suppose if you're going to stop me, you're going to half to keep an eye on me." Mac challenged, and evil glint in her eye.  
  
"No, Kedzie. Last time you had a drink or two, you went home totally drunk and Milli had a cow." Brian warned.  
  
"Oh, don't worry. This time, I won't be so drunk. I hate beer, but you know, it helps you dance." Mac said.  
  
"Kedzie, you are a fine dancer without the beer." Brian said.  
  
"Thanks Bri. Glad to know you think that, but bummer for you." Mac said. They got to the club before Brian could say another word about it.  
  
They walked into the club and Brian pointed out a group of people sitting at a booth. "There's where we're going to hang tonight." Brian yelled over the music. Mac nodded. They made their way over to the table.  
  
"Hey Mac!" Vicky Irving yelled.  
  
"Hey Vicky!" Mac yelled back.  
  
"I thought you left to go to some school." Vicky said.  
  
"I did, but I'm suspended." Mac said. The group all looked at her for more. "Yeah, yeah, I got in another fight."  
  
"What does this make, George?" Paul West asked.  
  
"I think it makes ninety dollars." George Brunswick said.  
  
"All right you guys. What's up now?" Mac asked.  
  
"We, the boys and us, made a bet. It was to see how soon or even if you would get suspended/expelled from this school for one reason or another. We said that you would get suspended/expelled by the end of the first semester for fighting." George said.  
  
"Yeah, Mac. You were worrying us there for awhile when you didn't come home." Paul said.  
  
"Oh shut up." Mac said. The conversation continued.  
  
"You got suspended for being a girl." Brian said, leaning over to her.  
  
"Well, they don't know that I went to be a Preventor. If I told everybody, then it would get to Sally somehow. Anyway, I did get into a fight on the same day. I won too." Mac explained. Brian lifted an eyebrow.  
  
"Seriously. You didn't see a bruise on me did you?" Mac asked.  
  
"Well, no. I suppose not." Brian said.  
  
"Hey Mac, are we gonna get on that dance floor or what?" Roxie Harding asked. She was the other dancer of the group.  
  
"You bet Roxie." Mac said. She grabbed Paul's beer and chugged the little bit that was left in it.  
  
"HEY!" Paul protested. Mac winked at both Paul and Brian. Brian was looking mad at her and Paul was looking at his empty beer.  
  
"Bye Bri! I promise that I won't get too drunk." Mac said as she ran away with Roxie.  
  
"I can never keep tabs on that girl." Brian muttered.  
  
"Why try?" Vicky asked.  
  
"Because I usually promise Milliardo that I will." Brian said, he grabbed a random beer and chugged the glass.  
  
"Brian I didn't know you were a drinker." George said.  
  
"I'm not." Brian said. The group laughed.  
  
"Give it up, boy. You'll never keep up with that one." The waitress said as she came up with the food. They all looked to see Mac dancing with some stranger on the dance floor.  
  
"She's really got some moves." Vicky said.  
  
"Yeah, what I wouldn't give to be in Zach Miller's place." Paul said.  
  
"What do you mean?" Whitney Conner asked.  
  
"You mean you haven't heard that they are going together now?" George asked. "Yeah, I agree with you Paul. I would love to be in Zach's place. Hell, I would change places with that man she's dancing with."  
  
"Than go do it." Whitney urged.  
  
"Are you kidding?" George asked. "I can't dance as good as she can. I mean you women just have to move, but we men have to learn."  
  
"No, all you gotta do is put your hands on our hips and move with us." Joanie Rockwell told him.  
  
"Oh well, too late now." Vicky told him.  
  
"What do you mean?" Brian asked.  
  
"She's moved on. She's gone." Whitney said.  
  
"Damn." Brian said. "She's gonna get drunk if I don't watch her."  
  
"Oh, she's a big girl. Besides, you know Milliardo's gonna freak even if she's only a little buzzed and because she's out this late anyway. Let her learn the consequences." Paul said.  
  
"Yeah, I suppose you're right." Brian said.  
  
"Oh, look who just walked through the door." Joanie said. Brian whipped around thinking it was either his girlfriend or Milliardo.  
  
"Well, if it ain't Zach Miller! Zach, my man!" George said to Zach as he came over to their table.  
  
"You shouldn't sit here." Vicky said to him.  
  
"Why not?" Zach asked.  
  
"Because your girl is out there working her body." Chrissy Monteno said in her usual Porte Rican accent. "And let me tell you, she's got moves."  
  
"Yeah, I get the point. Thanks for telling me." Zach said. He went off to find his girlfriend.  
  
"Okay, now I would worry." Vicky said.  
  
"Aw, they're just havin' fun." Chrissy said.  
  
"And that's what would worry me." Vicky said. They all cast a glance at Brian who was looking at Mac and Zach.  
  
"No, I think I'll just let her have fun. After all, she's the one who'll have to deal with a raving mad Milliardo." Brian said. The group shuddered at the thought.  
  
  
  
"Hey, Roxie!" Mac yelled.  
  
"Yea?" she yelled back.  
  
"C'mon girl! Move!" Mac told her.  
  
"You move your body first." Roxie yelled. It was a game they always played. They acted all nervous at first, then dared each other to dance first. Then when one of them started to dance, the other one would start to and soon, they were turning heads.  
  
"Fine. I won't be a chicken!" Mac yelled, smiling. Mac started to dance and then got lost in the music. It wasn't hard to. She just let her body fall into the beat and then just let her mind drift around. She moved from partner to partner until she ran into one in particular.  
  
"Hey Zach!" Mac yelled.  
  
"Hi Mac!" he yelled back. They started dancing together. They danced for a long time until Zach stopped with the song. "Hey, Mac, wanna go sit down for awhile? Grab something to eat?"  
  
"Sure." Mac replied, breathless. They walked over to the booth and sat down.  
  
"Mac, hon, you got moves!" Chrissy said.  
  
"Thanks Chris." Mac said, grabbing a drink. They all sat there, talking, eating, and drinking. "Hey, where'd Bri go?"  
  
"Oh, he and Ms. I'm-to-good-for-you-lil-kids went over there about an hour ago." Vicky pointed to a booth in a corner. Mac nodded and shoved a buffalo wing in her mouth and grabbed Zach's hand.  
  
"Thanks guys!" she yelled back through a mouth full.  
  
"Where are we going?" Zach asked.  
  
"Over to annoy him." Mac said. "Oh, and Zach, I'm going to fake that I'm drunk, so don't freak or anything. Just act like you looked away for a minute, and I downed like seven drinks." Zach nodded.  
  
Mac let go of Zach's hands and plopped herself down on the seat next to Brian.  
  
"Hey Bri!" Mac yelled, slurring her words. Brian looked at her as if she were the last person he wanted to see right now. "Who's the girl this time?"  
  
"Kedzie, this is Tina." Brian said dangerously.  
  
"Hi Tina!" Mac greeted her. Tina smiled at her. She looked at Brian for help.  
  
"Mac, how about you go dance." Brian gave her a look.  
  
"Naw, I think I'll hang with you guys for awhile. The floor keeps moving too much!" Mac laughed drunkenly.  
  
"Hey, Zach, how many drinks has she had?" Brian asked.  
  
"Aw, man, you and Milliardo are gonna kill me!" Zach said, playing along perfectly. Brian's eyes got huge.  
  
"How many?" he asked very dangerously.  
  
"I don't know! I was sitting with her, and she had one drink. I swear! Then, I turned around to say hi to this guy who came up, and then I looked over at her, and she had downed my glass and had four other empty ones in front of her. To top it off, she was drinking another! I was staring and she finished and was grabbing for another! I grabbed it from her and we came over here." Zach complained. Brian's eyes got even wider then turned into slits and his face closed up in anger.  
  
"Kedzie Rose." he growled.  
  
"Hey, Bri. C'mon! I gotta dance!" Mac complained as he grabbed her arm. She flashed Zach a helpless glance and he smirked. She mouthed Zach's name and tried to get him to come over to her rescue, but he wasn't watching her. He was moving closer towards Brian's girlfriend. "Brian, I'm fine! Really, it was just a joke!"  
  
Brian kept dragging Mac towards the door. "Brian, seriously! It was just a joke. I'm fine. I only had one drink! Promise!" Mac pleaded. Brian looked at her and shook his head.  
  
"Yeah, last time you promised me that, you had ten drinks and was hopelessly drunk!" Brian dragged her through the door. Mac dug her heels in the ground. "Kedzie, let's go! I'm not going to let you get yourself more drunk in there!"  
  
"Brian! Listen to me! I was playin' with you! I'm fine. I can even do the line test." Mac pleaded. Brian only growled and dragged her faster.  
  
They got to her house and went in. Brian turned on all the lights downstairs, and was pounding around. They heard footsteps coming down the stairs.  
  
"What the hell is going on down here?" Milliardo asked coming downstairs. Brian looked at him and the corners of his mouth twitched.  
  
"Nice boxers, Milli." Milliardo looked down at himself and blushed as he realized that he was still wearing nothing but his cute boxers that had little teddy bears holding hearts and flowers on them.  
  
"That's beside the point." Milliardo snapped. "What's going on here, and why the hell are you wearing that to bed? Or were you not in bed?"  
  
"Okay, Milli, I'll tell you, but you need to chill." Mac said.  
  
"I can't chill! I need to know what's going on here!" Milli said.  
  
"I would also like an explanation." Brian said, looking at her.  
  
"Ohhh, just both of you, sit!" Mac said, pushing them both on the couch.  
  
"Okay, Brian, you know this much. Milli, I was asleep, and Brian came along, and tapped on my window and told me he could take me somewhere for some fun." As Mac said this, Milliardo turned slowly to look at the also angry Brian, and Milliardo glared at Brian. "So, then I say, 'Great let's go!' and we go dancing. Which would explain the clothes. Then, when we get there," Mac's voice got lower and she started muttering. "I had one or two drinks and-"  
  
"You WHAT?" Milliardo roared. "I thought we had agreed no more drinking! You are too young, and after last time, we realized that you can't stomach even two drinks."  
  
"Listen! So I had one or two drinks, and then I started dancing. Me 'n' Roxie got out there and started showing people our moves. Then, Zach came along, the little bastard," Milliardo looked at her surprised and then gave her a warning look. "And we started dancing." Mac looked at Brian. "Brian, you don't know this part yet. So, I decided to play a trick on Brian. I got Zach to play along, and we went over to you guys in the booth. We got over there, and I told Zach what to say, and we convinced you. What was supposed to happen was we were going to get you kinda mad and then we would just smile and laugh and say, 'just kidding'. But, you took it too far. So, then, Brian the Brain drags me home, literally and starts pounding around and you come down Milli. And here we are!" Mac finished.  
  
Milliardo glared from Brian to Mac, deciding whom to yell at first. He decided on Brian. "You are supposed to be mature! It's not exactly your role to come here at midnight and whisk Cinderella off to the CLUB!" Milliardo yelled. "You've done this before Brian. You're 19, you can do this. She can't!"  
  
"Okay, I get it. Yeash, and I thought that when I left home, I would get out of lectures." Brian muttered.  
  
"And as for you young lady." Milliardo said, turning to Mac. Mac smiled sweetly at him. "You know better. List of reasons why you shouldn't do this:  
  
You are only 16!  
  
You dress like a.slut!" Mac gaped at him.  
  
"I do not!" she protested.  
  
"3.) You have a habit to drink!  
  
You dance like a wild woman when you're not supervised.  
  
You obviously can't keep control of yourself when you are out with your friends." Milliardo finished. "Do you want to hear more? I have more reasons."  
  
"Okay, okay. I get the gist. I can take a hint. I'm old enough to realize this, I shouldn't do it again, and I'm grounded for life. I get it." Mac droned.  
  
"No, I never said you were grounded for life." Milliardo groaned and rubbed his temples. "Brian, are you staying the night, or what's left of it, or going home?"  
  
"I'm going home. I don't want to be here in the morning when you two really get at it. No one can sleep or do anything. See ya. Bye." Brian said. He got up and walked out the door.  
  
"Mac, I'll see you in the morning and we'll discuss this then." Milliardo told her.  
  
"Ohhh, I hate it when you say that. It always means something really, really bad for me!" Mac complained.  
  
"Just get upstairs." Milliardo said. Mac climbed up the stairs loudly. "By the way, is that outfit new?"  
  
"Yes, I had to get myself something, didn't I?" she asked. She went into her room and closed the door. She got her P.J.'s back on and climbed back in bed. She looked at the clock before she fell asleep. 4:27. She smiled to herself and congratulated herself on how good she danced. 


	7. Chapter 7

When Mac woke up the next day, she smiled. She looked at her clock. 1:46. Then, she remembered why she slept so late. Her smile disappeared and she swore. She got up and got dressed and went downstairs to face the lions.  
  
"So, sleeping beauty decided to grace us with her presence today." Milliardo commented dryly from the couch. He turned off the TV and Noin looked up from her seat cuddled up practically on top of Milliardo.  
  
"Funny." Mac said. "So, what's the deal?"  
  
"I just can't believe that you went out at midnight, and to top it off, you were suspended, and you're not exactly supposed to be gallivanting around town." Milliardo ranted. Mac smiled at the phrase that she herself had used the night before and said that she sounded like Milliardo when she said it. "I don't see anything to laugh about."  
  
"What, oh sorry." Mac said, tuning back in.  
  
"You always do that. You always tune me out!" Milliardo whined.  
  
"Oh, really? Sorry." Mac said, not sounding sorry at all. Milliardo growled at her.  
  
"You're pushing it. I can't handle this! I'm sending you back as soon as possible!" Mac winked at Noin. Noin attempted to frown at her and act stern, but ended up smiling and winking back. Milliardo saw the exchange of winks. "It's a conspiracy!" he exclaimed. "You're in on it together!"  
  
"Milli, get over it. You'll never succeed in punishing me. Face it; no matter how you try to hide it, you're a softy. And we love you for it." Mac said, smiling evilly. Milliardo lowered his head in defeat.  
  
"I've been discovered. Damn." Mac giggled.  
  
"I had so much fun last night!" she told Noin. "I danced like crazy with just about everyone there. Then, Zach came, and helped me tick off Bri, but then he wouldn't help me calm him down. I saw the b-" she started to say, but Milliardo shot her a warning glance from his position in a chair with his head in his hands. "I saw the stupid guy trying to pull a move on his best friend's girlfriend! So, now, I give up on guys. I barely have a date with him, and he's already dumping me."  
  
"Don't worry, hon." Noin said. "It took me forever to find the right guy. And then, when I did, he left me for someone else." Milliardo's head shot up.  
  
"I never left you!" he protested.  
  
"Milli, honey, I wasn't talking about you." Noin said. Milliardo looked relieved, and then offended.  
  
"HEY!" he yelled. Noin and Mac giggled.  
  
"Noin, can we go shopping? I need some clothes." Mac said, in a pitiful voice.  
  
"Sure honey." Noin replied.  
  
"Didn't you just get that little strip of cloth that you call a shirt, a few days ago?" Milliardo asked.  
  
"Milli! First of all, it's a tube top. Second of all, I went shopping at the beginning of the week. It was so long ago!" Mac said. Milliardo sighed dramatically and put his head back in his hands.  
  
"I'll never understand women." He muttered.  
  
"Don't even attempt to. You'll only give yourself a headache. Men just weren't supposed to understand their superiors." Mac said to him. She giggled and dodged his hand as he tried to hit her. She ran out the door with Noin, giggling.  
  
Milliardo looked up. "This is a good thing. They're gone. Time for food." Milliardo got up and went into the kitchen to see if he could successfully eat everything in there.  
  
  
  
"Oh! This is perfect!" Noin exclaimed. Mac looked over. Noin was holding a dress.  
  
"Uh.isn't it just a bit big?" Mac asked, looking at the tent. Noin laughed.  
  
"No, it might be too small in a little bit." Mac's mouth dropped open.  
  
"Noin!" she squealed. They hugged. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"  
  
"Well, I haven't quite told Milli, and I wasn't sure if I should tell you about it first." Noin admitted. Mac took a step back.  
  
"You haven't told Milli? Oh, that's definitely not good."  
  
"I know, but I'm just trying to find the words." Noin looked at Mac. "You won't tell, will you?"  
  
Mac made a cross over her heart. "I promise, but I do know a way you could tell him."  
  
Noin looked interested. "You do?"  
  
"Sure. I mean, I know Milli's a man, so it might take awhile, but all you have to do is by some baby clothes and he just might take the hint." Mac said.  
  
"You know, that just might work." Noin said, already forming the plan in her mind. "Thanks kiddo." The two women walked out of the store.  
  
  
  
"HEERO! HEERO! WHERE ARE YOU?" Duo yelled. Heero sighed and put his head in his hands. 'It's only a matter of time.' Heero thought.  
  
Outside the room, you could hear skidding and THUD. Then, swearing followed by pounding on the door. "Heero! I know you're in there! You can't hide from the Shinigami! OPEN UP!" Duo yelled.  
  
"It's unlocked, Duo." Heero said. The pounding stopped and the doorknob turned, suspiciously. The door opened slowly.  
  
"Oh! Whadda know! It IS unlocked!" Duo exclaimed. Heero sighed again and hit his head on his desk. Duo looked up from the fascinating door and focused back on Heero.  
  
"What is it this time, Duo?" Heero asked, expecting the worst.  
  
"My comics came!" Duo yelled. Heero struggled to keep the ever-straight face.  
  
"Anything else? Or is that all?" Heero asked.  
  
"Oh, yeah. Sally wants to talk to you." Duo said, nonchalantly. Heero once again struggled not to roll his eyes.  
  
"Thanks, Duo." Heero said, and got up and left. 'Will he ever grow up?' Heero thought as he walked down the halls to Sally's office.  
  
"You wanted to see me?" Heero asked.  
  
"Oh, Heero. Yes, I did." Sally said, looking up from her computer. "Listen, I know that we usually don't do this, but I want you to bodyguard for someone here."  
  
Heero raised an eyebrow. "Relena's here?" he asked, trying to suppress his excitement.  
  
Sally shook her head. "No, I'm sorry Heero. Relena will be here as soon as possible, but she still has things to do in the Kingdom."  
  
Heero tried not to look crestfallen. "So, who is it then?"  
  
"Well, it's. Let me tell you about why first. There has been some reported of OZ activity in the area. It's said that they are looking for a gundam pilot." Sally paused. Heero raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Don't tell me I have to bodyguard Duo." Heero said. "I will refuse."  
  
Sally laughed. "Oh no! Duo can protect himself. It's someone else I'm worried about. You see, she hasn't been tested to her full ability yet, so we're not sure if she can handle them. We also would like to keep it a secret that there's a new gundam pilot."  
  
Heero's mask dropped for a second and showed his astonishment and horror. He quickly recovered. " She, her. Mac. You want me to watch over Mac."  
  
"Right." Sally said. She had never seen the look on Heero's face a moment ago. "Is there a problem?"  
  
Heero shook his head. "No." He turned on his heel and left. 'Mac. I'm supposed to baby-sit Duo's little sister. Oh, God, I've been reduced to babysitting.' Heero thought in despair.  
  
  
  
"Milli! We're home!" Noin called out. The women tried to get through the foyer with all their bags. Milliardo came to the doorway and looked at them.  
  
"God, that's a lot of bags. Did you use my credit card?" Milliardo asked, suspiciously.  
  
Noin walked over and kissed him. "Yes." Milliardo's mouth dropped open. He followed the, numbly, into the living room. They set down their bags and opened them all up.  
  
Mac started taking out all sorts of clothes and accessories. Noin took out some clothes. Milliardo did a double take on what she was taking out.  
  
"Aren't those a little small?" he asked. "For you and Mac?"  
  
"They aren't for us." Noin said, bringing out more and more of the tiny clothes. Milliardo, being a man, still didn't get it.  
  
"Then, who are they for?" he asked. Noin and Mac exchanged looks and sighed in unison. "I'm really missing something here, aren't I?"  
  
"Yes." Mac said. Noin shot her a look.  
  
"Honey," Noin said, getting closer to Milliardo. "These are for a mini you." Milliardo looked confused for a minute, then, a light bulb went on over his head.  
  
"Oh!" he said. Then it sank in. "OH MY GOD! I'm gonna be a dad."  
  
"Click." Mac said, through her tears of mirth. She was laughing herself sick at Milliardo's stupidity. She already had to sit down. Milliardo shook himself out of his dazed state and glared at Mac.  
  
"Hey! It just took me awhile because you guys didn't just come out and say it!" Milliardo glared harder at the laughing Mac. Just when Mac thought she would burst, the doorbell rang and someone came walking in.  
  
"Hey Kedzie! Oh, hi guys." Brian said. "Kedzie, guess what?" Mac opened her mouth, but Brian didn't let her say anything. "I'm getting a job!"  
  
"What?" she asked. "Where?"  
  
"On Earth! I'm going to Earth! Can you believe it?" Brian yelled.  
  
"W-w-what?" Mac stuttered.  
  
"That's right! Earth!" Brian grabbed Mac and swung her around. Mac was stunned. She couldn't talk or move. Brian realized that Mac wasn't moving, and stopped his happy jig. "What's the matter?"  
  
"N-n-bu-bu-bu-h-h." Mac stammered.  
  
"You sound like my car revving up!" Brian joked.  
  
"You're leaving us?" Mac finally croaked.  
  
Brian stopped in his tracks. "What do you mean? You left." Brian pointed out bluntly.  
  
"But, but." Mac said.  
  
Brian laughed grimly. "And here I thought you would be happy for your jobless friend! Boy, that really stakes out where we stand in our friendship."  
  
"No, Bri, it's just, wow!" Mac covered up. "Earth! That's all. I'm ecstatic for you! I mean, you're the first person in the whole universe to make me speechless! Congrats!"  
  
"Oh! If that's what you mean, thanks!" Brian started explaining his job, but Mac wasn't listening.  
  
'He's leaving me. I can't believe it. Brian is leaving. To EARTH! Earth of all places. I know I left, but not to EARTH!' Mac thought numbly.  
  
"I'm gonna live in America and it's a great job!" Brian said, breaking into Mac's reverie.  
  
"What is it again?" Mac asked.  
  
"I'm working on building shuttles." Brian explained. "As soon as I'm settled, I'll send for you Kedzie."  
  
"Ok, that'll be great." Mac said with false enthusiasm. Brian swung Mac around again and walked out the door.  
  
"Well, Brian's going to Earth." Noin said.  
  
"I'm glad he finally got a real job. Good for him, huh Macky?" Milliardo said.  
  
"Yeah, right. Good for him." Mac replied, still numb. She climbed up the stairs into her room with Noin looking worriedly after her.  
  
"You okay, honey?" Noin asked.  
  
"Yeah, just tired. Too much shopping." Mac replied.  
  
Noin and Milliardo exchanged glances. "Okay, now I'm worried about her. She just said that she had too much shopping."  
  
"She's in shock. Just leave her. She has to go back tomorrow anyway." Milliardo said, pulling Noin into his lap. Noin giggled. "So, I'm gonna be a daddy? Well, do we know if it's a mini me or mini you?"  
  
"No, I didn't think we would find out until she/he is born." Noin responded.  
  
"Okay, I suppose so, but it's gonna be hard to wait." Milliardo whined.  
  
"Don't worry, it'll come fast enough." Noin told him. "In fact, we only have about five months to go."  
  
"What? Well, then." Milliardo asked. He kissed Noin's stomach and Noin giggled.  
  
  
  
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! INCOMING MAIL!  
  
"Damn. Who now?" Mac grumbled, getting off her bed and plopping herself down on the computer chair. She clicked the button to get the call.  
  
The vid-screen popped up. "Hello?" Mac asked. A face popped up on the screen.  
  
"Hiya! I missed you! Did you miss me? Oh of course you did!" the face said.  
  
"Duo!" Mac groaned. "Duo now's not the time."  
  
"Yes it is! I'm telling ya. Now is definitely the time!" Duo exclaimed. "This is kinda confidential, but I thought you should know, since it's about yo-"  
  
Duo was replaced by Heero. "Sorry, Mac. Listen, your brother has a big mouth. Forget what he said." Heero said in his ever-present monotone. Mac could hear sounds of struggle in the back round.  
  
"What's going on Heero?" Mac asked.  
  
"I just shoved your brother in the closet. He's trying to get out and he will soon, so I'll tell you something and then sign off. Be careful when you come back tomorrow okay? Don't talk to anyone strange or anything. I know that sounds like what your mother would say when you were 5, but I'm very serious. Got it?" Heero asked.  
  
"Yea, but what's the big deal?" Mac said.  
  
"I'll tell you tomorrow." Heero said. Mac heard, as Heero was signing off, the closet door open up and Duo's cry of triumph. Then her screen went black.  
  
"That was weird." Mac commented. She got up and started packing; she had an early flight.  
  
  
  
"I promise I will call you as soon as I go into labor." Noin promised the next day.  
  
"Good, otherwise, I'll call everyday until you tell me that she's coming!" Mac teased.  
  
"How do you know it's a she?" Milliardo asked.  
  
"I have intuition." Mac said. "I have a gut feeling."  
  
"Well, we'll just see how good that intuition of yours is." Milliardo teased. They all stood in uncomfortable silence for a moment.  
  
"Bye!" Mac said, hugging Noin.  
  
"I'm gonna miss you hon." Noin whispered. Mac fought back tears. They pulled apart and Mac stood in front of Milliardo. They stood like that for a few seconds, and then Mac threw her arms around Milliardo's neck.  
  
"Bye Milli." She said. She pulled back and then managed a weak smile for them and turned around to go on the shuttle.  
  
When Mac found her seat and sat down, she went over last night's encounter with Brian when she went over to his house.  
  
"Knock, knock? Anyone home?" Mac asked, letting herself in Brian's apartment.  
  
"I'm in here!" Brian called from the bedroom. Mac made her way towards his room.  
  
"Hey Bri." She said. He looked up from packing.  
  
"Hi Kedzie!" he exclaimed. "I'm glad you're here. I wanted to tell you that I really appreciate you being okay with this. I know that you don't really want me to go, but you're at least being supportive."  
  
Mac bit her lip and looked at the floor. "Yeah." she mumbled. Brian looked closer at her.  
  
"What's the matter?" he asked. Mac unsuccessfully attempted to push the tears from her eyes.  
  
"I'm just gonna miss you." She said, blinking quickly to keep the tears at bay. He walked over to her and hugged her.  
  
"I'm gonna miss you too, but we'll be okay. I mean, we were okay when you left for the Preventors." Brian said.  
  
"I know." Mac broke down. She started crying silently. "But EARTH, Brian! You're going to EARTH! That's a long way away, and you are just up and leaving! You didn't even think about the rest of us! I'm gonna miss you too much! It was a comfort to know you were right where I had left you and that I could always picture you doing something. But if you go somewhere else, I can't picture you! I don't want you to go!"  
  
Brian's face darkened. "You left. You went somewhere that I couldn't picture you! You, you, you! You are only thinking about yourself! Well, Kedzie Rose, here's some news for you: I want to go. This is what I've always been wanting, and I'm not going to let you ruin it for me!"  
  
Mac took a step back. She felt as if he had just slapped her. "Fine. You feel that way, then maybe it's better that you leave! Noin will have her baby, and life will move on. We'll never think of you again! NEVER!" Mac was screaming on the top of her lungs by the time she finished. Brian flushed deep crimson.  
  
"Yeah, well, I'll go and marry and have kids, and we'll never even think of you and your stupid gundams! We'll develop better things!" Brian yelled back.  
  
Mac gasped and stepped up to him, her eyes flaming. "If that's the way you really feel." She hissed, and then she punched him in the stomach. His eyes got huge and he slumped.  
  
Mac was too far gone to care about what she just did. She looked down at him. "Good bye. I hope you'll bathe in your guilt when I'm a famous gundam pilot." She hissed.  
  
His response was hardly audible, but Mac heard it. "I hate you." 


	8. Chapter 8

"Welcome to the Preventors Airport." The voice over the intercom boomed. "Please stay seated until we have completely stopped."  
  
"Miss? Are you alright?" the person next to Mac asked. Mac looked at him.  
  
"Hm? Oh, yeah. I'm fine." Mac hadn't even realized that she was crying. She wiped her face and blew her nose. She was determined to look her best when she got back.  
  
"Is it a boy?" the man next to her asked. He handed her a tissue.  
  
"Yes." Mac said.  
  
"Oh, don't let it bother you. Boys will be boys. He'll get over it." The man said. "I'm Mr. Jack Baron."  
  
"I'm Mackenzie Maxwell." They shook hands.  
  
"So, Ms. Maxwell, what are you doing here?" Mr. Baron asked.  
  
"Oh, I'm a Preventor." She responded.  
  
"Really? Wow. I didn't know that they let girls in," he said.  
  
"Well, they do now." Mac said.  
  
"Do you pilot mobile suits?" he asked.  
  
"Most people are learning, but I already know how." She said, not really even thinking.  
  
"Are they training for gundams?" he asked.  
  
"I." Mac started, but Heero's warning rolled through her head. Don't talk to anyone strange. Don't let out any personal information. "I'm not sure. Excuse me, I have to go."  
  
Mac got up and grabbed her duffel and quickly got out of the plane. 'Don't so paranoid.' She mentally chided her self. 'He was just a nice middle aged man, curious about the Preventors.'  
  
And yet, deep down, Mac wasn't quite sure that was all.  
  
  
  
"Welcome back!" Duo said.  
  
"Hi Duo!" Mac said, with false cheerfulness. Duo looked at his younger sister closely. He realized that she had been crying, but he wouldn't say anything. Let her come to him. Her eyes held a different emotion in them. He couldn't quite place it. She seemed sad, angry, and scared.  
  
"How was it?" he asked, a little more worried now.  
  
"Oh, it was fun! I missed being able to dance, so I danced up a storm." She lied. 'Well, I did one night.' She mentally excused her lie.  
  
"Oh, that's great! We do have a dance coming up, so maybe you could show us your moves." Duo said, wiggling his eyebrows. Mac giggled. Duo threw an arm around her shoulders. While they walked, he considered her. She was lying about how fun it was. Obviously something happened while she was at home, but it was probably nothing.  
  
"How are Milli and Noin?" Duo asked.  
  
"Huh? Oh, Milli's over protective as always and Noin's pregnant." Mac said.  
  
"Really? Good for them." Duo said. "So, did you bring me back anything?"  
  
"Yes, and I hope you like it because it took a lot of time." Mac responded. Duo's eyes grew large.  
  
"OH JOY! A toy! But, I was just kidding." Mac giggled at Duo's response.  
  
"Believe me, you will be oh so grateful towards me forever more." Mac said, mysteriously.  
  
"Oh, lemme see! Lemme see!" Duo said, bouncing around. Mac laughed.  
  
"Nope, it's not here yet."  
  
"Oh! It's big then!"  
  
"Very!" Mac said.  
  
"When will it get here?"  
  
"Later today. Probably this evening." Mac walked into her hallway and said good-bye to Duo. She went into her room and started putting some of her stuff away. She had brought more girly things this time, including a bathing suit.  
  
Soon after, a knock came on her door.  
  
"It's unlocked!" she called. The door opened. Mac turned around. "Sam!"  
  
"Hey." He said.  
  
"Well, someone doesn't very happy to see me!" Mac retorted, hurt.  
  
"Sorry, it's not that, it's just. Well, tell me. How was it?" he asked, putting in a little more enthusiasm.  
  
"Well, I went dancing and I went shopping and I went dancing. and did I mention shopping?" Mac said. Sam laughed.  
  
"Glad you're back." He said. Then he sobered up.  
  
"Sam, I'm not blind, deaf or stupid. Anyone could tell that something was wrong by the way you're acting. Tell me." Mac commanded. Sam sighed.  
  
"You'd better sit." Mac still stood and crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine, the instructors are pushing us even harder and more and more. They keep telling us that we need to be ready, but they won't tell us what for." Mac raised an eyebrow. "They are finding out what our best talents are, and making us do lessons in that all day. Our lunch, breakfast, dinner, and free time is cut down gigantically."  
  
"Uh-huh. I know." Mac said. Sam raised an eyebrow and cocked his head.  
  
"How?"  
  
"Connections."  
  
"Whatever. So, now, we're all beat and tired and a lot of kids are bailing."  
  
"OH that's horrible!" Mac exclaimed. Then, a thought occurred to her. "Did Joe leave?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Damn. Well, I suppose I'd better go look for Duo and give him his present." Mac said. Sam nodded and went off in another direction. Mac first looked in the kitchen for her brother, then the office, then his room, but still couldn't find him.  
  
As she was walking back to her room, she heard voices coming from a room in a corner that she had no idea was even there. She knocked on the door and it immediately got quiet.  
  
"Duo!" Someone hissed. "I thought you said that this place was somewhere that no one knew about!"  
  
"I thought so! Don't blame me!" Duo hissed back.  
  
"I blame you!" the first voice hissed again. The door opened a crack.  
  
"MACKEY!" Duo yelled. "EEP!" Duo yelped as his head jerked back.  
  
"Maxwell! If you want to see this ugly rat tail live another few seconds, I would shut that big mouth of yours!" Duo's head snapped back up and he grimaced.  
  
"Come in, and hurry." Duo whispered. Mac slipped through the door and Duo shut it almost before she actually was in the room.  
  
"What's up?" Mac asked, looking around at all the ex-gundam pilots and their friends' solemn faces.  
  
"Well, there have been attacks on bases around the world from an unknown terrorist group." Sally said.  
  
"Right." Mac said, looking expectantly from face to face.  
  
"What do you mean, 'right'? You sound as if you know this." Duo said.  
  
"I do. Milli told me." Mac said.  
  
"He did?" Sally asked.  
  
"Yep. He also told me to give the boys their presents, since he knows how they can act like such babies when they are kept in suspense." Mac teased, grinning evilly.  
  
"I hope you were only talking about Maxwell." Wufei said in a dangerous tone.  
  
"Nope, I meant you too Wu-man." Mac teased again. Wufei growled.  
  
"Oh, God help us all! Two Maxwell's who are exactly the same!" he muttered. Duo winked at Mac and she winked back.  
  
"Let's go get your presents. You guys better get down on your knees and thank me and worship me for this one." Mac told them.  
  
"Ha! I'll never get on my knees to a stupid woman!" Wufei scorned. He was immediately face to face with a very angry, indignant Mac.  
  
"Take that back or your present will go." She said. Wufei just muttered something that sounded like an apology. Mac turned around again and started walking towards the hangar.  
  
When they got there, she led them over to a metal door and she typed in the code to it. The door swung open and she walked through. The boys followed suspiciously.  
  
"Hey! I can't see anything!" Duo whined.  
  
"It's a bit dark to see any presents." Quatre pointed out.  
  
"If you will hold on a second." Mac said from far away. The boys heard a THUNK followed by a variety of words that made even Duo surprised.  
  
"Hey, Mac? You okay?" Trowa asked.  
  
"Fine." Mac said, obviously through clenched teeth. Then an exclamation of triumph flowed over to the boy's ears, and the lights flickered on.  
  
Several large figures were outlined by the flickering lights. The boys stood there, awestruck.  
  
"Is that what I think it is?" Wufei croaked.  
  
"One second more!" Mac called. She slammed her palm down on the wall right next to the light switch and the lights stayed on. The g-boys looked up at the tall figures in pure awe.  
  
"DEATHSYTHE!" Duo yelled on the top of his lungs and then he ran over there and glomped it. The other boys were a little less loud, but none the less excited.  
  
"Oh, Sandrock!" Quatre said, then fainted.  
  
"Oh, Nataku! I missed you!" Wufei exclaimed.  
  
"Good to see you old friend." Trowa said to Heavyarms. Heero walked over to the new Wing Zero and walked around it several times, checking it over. He opened a compact computer and checked the computer inside. When he was done, he nodded.  
  
"Ahem!" Mac yelled. Everyone, including the now conscious Quatre, turned his head towards her. "I believe that thanks are in order here."  
  
Wufei was the first one to go over to her and throw himself at her feet.  
  
"THANK YOU! THANK YOU! You brought back my Natuku." He said as he all but kissed her feet. Duo came running over to her and threw his arms around her. She stumbled back.  
  
"You're the best little sis anyone could ever, ever have!" he exclaimed like a two year old.  
  
The rest of the thank you's were done quietly and decorously.  
  
"So, where's yours?" Duo asked. "I thought you were a gundam pilot too."  
  
"I am. Divinity's over here." Mac led them over to her gundam. The boys looked appraisingly over her gundam.  
  
"Nice, very nice." Duo commented. "But, never as good as Deathsythe."  
  
"I beg to differ older bro." Mac said. "Does Deathsythe have a radio/CD player in it that plays in and OUT of the gundam?" Duo's jaw hit ground level.  
  
"Are you serious?" he asked.  
  
"Yep." Mac said smugly.  
  
"How?"  
  
"A bastard named Zach put it in for me." Mac told him, her face darkening and her eyes flaming at the thought of Zach.  
  
"Well, if he did that for you, I wouldn't call him a bastard." Duo said.  
  
"It's a long story, but he had a crush on me and vice versa and so he did that, but we went out, and I left for two seconds, and he is already pulling moves on some other girl." Mac growled.  
  
"Oh. Well, then I would call him a bastard." Duo replied.  
  
"Right, so whose gundam is better now?" Mac asked. Duo didn't get a chance to reply because Sally came up to them.  
  
"I think they're both wonderful. So, are they completely finished?" Sally asked Mac.  
  
"Yes, we finished. We worked forever on them. You don't seem surprised Ms. Sally."  
  
"I'm not. Milliardo told me about them awhile ago." Sally smiled at Mac. "So, I suppose you don't need to be in the Preventor classes if you already know everything."  
  
"Actually," Mac admitted. "I would like to learn more. Not about gundams or mobile suits, but other stuff. Or I could just work here. Either one."  
  
"Well, we'll see. I'm not sure how the boys would handle not only a girl, but a younger girl teaching them." Sally said.  
  
"Speaking of which, Mac, you didn't happen to get in a fight, did you?" Duo asked.  
  
"Maybe."  
  
"Because we found Joe outside your room slumped and hurt. He was kinda vague about what happened."  
  
"Probably didn't want to admit that he got beat up by a girl." Mac muttered.  
  
"So you did fight."  
  
"So what?"  
  
"Never mind. You are just too difficult." Heero said. Mac beamed at him.  
  
"And pig headed and weak and.." Wufei muttered.  
  
"WHAT WAS THAT, YOU MALE CHAUVINST?" Mac yelled, whirling around to face Wufei. Wufei cowered down.  
  
"Nothing." He whimpered. "I didn't say anything." Mac smiled smugly.  
  
"Nuh uh!" Quatre protested. "You said that she was pig headed and weak and then you stopped because you were afraid." Quatre looked around smiling, but stopped as soon as he saw Mac and Wufei glaring at him. "What?" he asked innocently.  
  
"KISAMA!" Wufei yelled.  
  
"EEP!" Quatre yelped, his eyes growing wide. Wufei took after Quatre, and Mac ran after Wufei screaming. Duo cheered on a certain person then changed his opinion every other sentence. Heero and Trowa exchanged glances of disgust and went over to separate the fight that had started. Sally just chuckled.  
  
Sally walked out the door, but before the door shut, she heard, "GET OFF ME! CAN'T YOU TELL I'M BEATING WUFEI TO A PULP!" and chuckled more.  
  
"Gundam pilots." She murmured and shook her head.  
  
  
  
"Ugh. Wufei, you suck." Mac said the next morning. Wufei looked up from his cereal. His face was decorated with several bruises.  
  
"What, you only have one black eye." He protested.  
  
"I know, but I also have a major headache." She whined.  
  
"Weak woman." He mumbled.  
  
"You wanna start that again?" she asked him. He shook his head. Duo came walking in the kitchen.  
  
"Duo, you look worse than Wu-man." Mac said.  
  
"I take offence to that." Duo said, insulted. "I could be run over by a truck and still look better than him!" Wufei growled through a mouth full of cereal.  
  
Heero came walking in and looked at the three of them and shook his head.  
  
"Mac what are you doing here?" he asked.  
  
"I live here now. I get to live in the gundam pilots suites." She said smugly.  
  
"Ugh, two Maxwell's. Not only in the same school, but in the same little apartment thing." Wufei said. "I don't know if I can handle this."  
  
Just then, Quatre came walking in. Everyone looked up.  
  
"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHA!" Mac laughed. Quatre blushed. As soon as Mac calmed herself down, she looked at Quatre again. His face was almost one big bruise and he had bruises all over his arms.  
  
"Don't laugh, it hurts." He whined.  
  
"Hehehehehehe, how on Earth did you get so beat up when you were only fighting Wufei?" Mac asked. Wufei growled more.  
  
"Well, as I recall, you and Duo were in the pile too." Quatre said. Trowa came walking in the kitchen and looked at the four with bruises raised an eyebrow and walked over to the cabinet followed by Quatre. Quatre pulled out a box of granola and immediately was confronted with Mac.  
  
"If you wish to live to see tomorrow, put down the box." She growled. He made a sad face at her and set down the box. She grabbed it and sat down again. Then, Quatre opened the cabinet and saw five more boxes of granola. He turned and looked at Mac. She was busy shoveling granola as fast as she could into her mouth. He turned back and reached for Lucky Charms.  
  
Heero rushed over and grabbed it from Quatre's grasp and gave him a warning look. Quatre then grabbed a box of something very, very sugary and Duo barked, "Put the box down."  
  
Then, Quatre got a box of Wheaties and got growled at by Trowa. He sighed. Then, tried the second to last box in the cabinet, oatmeal in cereal form. Wufei glared at him. Quatre finally got the last box in the cabinet, his only hope of breakfast. It was Grapenuts. That would never fill him up, but was better than going to the cafeteria. He pulled a bowl down and then grabbed for the milk, but Heero grabbed it first. Heero handed it to Quatre when he was done. He poured the milk on his cereal, but nothing came out. Quatre sighed, and went in the fridge, but there was no milk. He looked over at his dry cereal, on the verge of tears. There was no way he could eat that dry. Then, the bell rang and the pilots all put their dishes in the sink and walked out of the kitchen.  
  
  
  
"Hey, baby. You free?"  
  
"Aren't you the hottie!"  
  
"Bring that over here!" Mac rolled her eyes at the catcalls. She just kept walking down the halls and reminded herself that they were only doing that because they had hardly seen a girl in about five months. She walked into the gym and everything got quiet, for a moment. She immediately saw why. Everyone was huddled in one circle and they were all listening to someone in the middle. Or at least they WERE listening to someone in the middle. The group parted for the speaker.  
  
"Well, if it isn't the baby girl." Mac winced at the voice.  
  
"Joe, who let you out of the zoo?"  
  
"Funny. You think you're so big and cool. Well, I've got news for you: no one likes you. You're not wanted here. Go home."  
  
"I have friends here. YOU are the one without friends. Do you actually think all these guys like you? Well, my guess is no. They're afraid of you so they do your bidding." Mac retorted.  
  
"Look around, Mac. Do you see anyone coming to your defense?" He looked around and no one moved. Mac's eyes roved the crowd. Her eyes stopped and narrowed. She saw a certain person trying to hide in the crowds.  
  
"You're right, Joe." Mac admitted. "Obviously, no one here is man enough to stand up to you. So, I have to be a woman and stand up for myself. I just want to take this time to point out how cowardly all men are. Joe, you won't even pick on me in front of teachers or fairly. You do so in back halls or when the teachers back is turned." Mac named off a few more people that she knew and they weren't standing up for her now and she insulted them. "And, finally, Sam. You must be the most coward of this group. That's right, Sam. I'm talking to you. You were nice to me and were my friend when I came here, but now, you bow down to the lesser. You are more cowardly than Joe. None of you will make it in battle."  
  
"How would you know?" Joe asked. "Are you a gundam pilot?" He was, of course kidding, because no one knew that the gundams were back in the picture except for the exclusive few.  
  
Mac just smirked. "I have experience," was all she said. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of hurting her. She turned to walk out the door, but paused. "Oh, by the way Sam. I hope you rot in hell."  
  
With that, she walked out the door. She could hear the boys poking fun at Sam because she had ragged him down the worst. She managed to get to her room before she broke down and cried.  
  
When she finished crying, she stomped around the suites and picked up unbreakable stuff and threw it at the walls. She had picked up a plastic vase that the school had provided, and just as she threw it, the door opened and missed the person by an inch.  
  
"Whoa! No one told me the war started yet!" Duo joked.  
  
"Not funny."  
  
"What's your problem?" Duo stepped all the way inside and looked around at the mess.  
  
"No one likes me." Mac pouted. Duo did all he could not to laugh, but it wasn't enough. He burst out laughing. "What is so funny, Duo Maxwell?"  
  
"You!" he gasped. Mac put her hands on her hips and pursed her lips.  
  
"Okay, okay. You just sounded like a little girl. It was just the absurdity of the moment." Duo explained. He sat down on the couch and patted the seat next to him and Mac sat down. "Okay, tell your big brother what's wrong."  
  
"You're so cheesy." Mac said. Duo just chuckled. "Well, today I went into the gym, and all the guys were in a circle and talking about me and then Joe stepped out and told me to go home because no one liked me. Then, I of course did believe him, but he said that no one was coming to my defense and it's true. I looked around, and low and behold, Sam was trying to hide from me. So, I lifted my head up and told them all that they were cowards and would never make it in battle. Joe asked how I knew and I told him about-"  
  
"YOU WHAT? You didn't tell him about the gundams, did you? You couldn't have told him that you were a gundam pilot." Duo interrupted.  
  
"No, Duo. I told them that I had experience. That's all, and then I came here." Mac said slowly.  
  
"Oh, my poor, poor little sister." Duo said in a cheesy voice.  
  
"Duo, you have no emotions. Except of course for your humor and sarcasticness. I'm not even sure if that's a word, but oh well!" Mac said. She stood up and started for the door. "I'm going to go kick some butt."  
  
She walked out the door and headed, once again, for the gym. When she got there, the boys were in class and she once again, caused another disturbance.  
  
"Well, if it isn't the little girl." Joe sneered. "Go home, Mac."  
  
"That's Ms. Maxwell to you." She said. "I'm your assistant trainer."  
  
"What-how." Joe stammered.  
  
"I have my reasons. Now, you lazy bums, get out there and start running." she commanded. They all got up and grumbled and ran. One guy came up to her and tapped her shoulder. She turned to face him.  
  
"Hey, Mac."  
  
"Well, well. If it isn't the cowardly coward himself! Sam! Wish I could say it's nice to see you, but it isn't."  
  
"Listen Mac. I realize how you feel and-"  
  
"No, you don't. See, as soon as you are rejected by almost everyone that you could trust, then you'll know how I feel, but for now, you're living the high life." She said, as cold as Heero. "You don't actually believe that Joe likes you, do you? I hope not. I hope you realize that he's using you to get to me, and soon as he realizes that you mean nothing to me, he'll drop you and turn everyone against you. Then, you can say you know how I feel. Oh, and don't expect me to come to your rescue and defend you because I don't forgive that easily." Mac turned away from him.  
  
"Fine, I can recognize a dismissal when I see one, but you're wrong about Joe." Sam said, the hurt exposed in his voice. "By the way, I would have stood up for you, but you just had to."  
  
Heero had walked in and disguised the surprise on his face to see the boys running already. Sam walked away as Heero came up to Mac. He looked at her.  
  
"I'm surprised Sally didn't tell you. I'm your assistant teach!" Mac said. Heero's mask betrayed him for a moment, but was immediately back in place. Mac hid her confusion, but was surprised to see Heero look almost. Angry. "What? It's not like I did anything to you! I mean, come on! Is the whole world against me lately! Good God, the male population has seemed to turn against me and the female population has just ignored me!"  
  
Mac, for reasons even unknown to her, stalked out of the gym for the second time that day, leaving Heero staring after her, clearly confused. Mac walked down the hall, outside into the cold winter air. 'What the hell am I doing?' she thought. 'It's not like he made fun of me or anything. I should turn around and go back in.'  
  
But she didn't. She kept walking. She found herself back inside, but not by the gym. In fact, she wasn't even in the main building. She found herself in the private room in the hangar. The one that held the gundams.  
  
Mac shrugged and figured while she was there, she would check on Divinity. She made her way between the gigantic figures over to her gundam and climbed in. When she got in there, she looked around.  
  
"It's been too long." She ran her hands over the buttons and keys. She found a new one and read the words under it. Her eyes lit up. "Music." She pulled a special compartment out of her seat and checked to see if her good CD's were in there. "Good." She looked for one to suit her mood and found Meredith Brooks'. She smiled and put it in.  
  
Little did she know, it was on the speaker too. She began to blast her favorite song, 'Bitch' and sat back and smiled. While she was sitting there, blasting the music, Duo had gone looking for her. He was beginning to get worried about her moodiness.  
  
He had just found out from Heero about her outburst in the gym, and now was going to have a little 'chat' with her. He walked into the hangar on a hunch. He went into the secret room and was immediately confronted with blasting music.  
  
I'm a bitch  
  
I'm a tease  
  
I'm a goddess on my knees  
  
Duo not only heard all this, but his sister singing too as he approached her gundam. He knocked on her door and he heard the music go off and the door open.  
  
"Duo!" Mac exclaimed, surprised.  
  
"Yeah. Come on out. We can't both fit in there. Well, at least comfortably." Duo said.  
  
"Okay. What's wrong? You seem mad." Mac said as she climbed out.  
  
"Well, you're just worrying me. You've been awfully moody lately and you just walked out on Heero for no apparent reason."  
  
"I know. He just seemed angry to have me as his assistant and I felt like he had no reason to be." Mac said. "Sorry, Duo. I know I've been moody and cranky, but it just seems to come out. I can't seem to stop it."  
  
"Well, it must be the whole teen-age thing." Duo excused.  
  
Mac laughed. "You make it sound as if you wouldn't know. You're only 21!"  
  
"I know, but remember, I was fighting when I was your age."  
  
"True, but you were still a pain." Duo nodded, then looked up.  
  
"HEY!!" Mac laughed more.  
  
"Listen, Macky. I thought about what you said about Sam. And, I think that maybe you were to hard on him." Mac's mouth dropped open.  
  
"ME? Too hard on HIM?" Duo put his hands up in mock surrender.  
  
"Hey, hey. Don't get all mad and hissy at me. I'm just sayin' that if I were a guy, which I am," Duo covered when he saw the questioning look on Mac's face. "Anyway, if I were the guy, I would be mad at YOU for pickin' me out of the crowd like that."  
  
"Well, it's not like I wasn't singled out. He also didn't defend me." Mac said defensively.  
  
"I understand that. You were hurt, but did you ever think that maybe you hurt him too? Like, maybe he didn't understand why you didn't tell him you were a girl before everyone else." Duo put up his hands again when Mac opened her mouth. "I know, you couldn't, but maybe he thinks that since he was your friend, you could." Duo took a deep breath. "Okay, that's all my sincere stuff for today." Then his face lit up in a mischievous grin. "Time to go bug Heero! Wanna come?"  
  
"No thanks." Mac said. Duo walked off and left Mac to her thoughts. 


	9. Chapter 9

Mac was sleeping on her bed in the gundam suites. She wasn't, however, resting. She was tossing and turning and moaning.  
  
CLICK. CLICK. CLICK. The sound of footsteps was coming closer. 'Oh no!' Mac thought. 'I have to get out of here!' She didn't know why, but the urge to get far away was irresistible. She began to run.  
  
CLICK. CLICK. CLICK. The sound was coming closer. 'Why can't I move?' She thought. She looked down at her body and realized that she was in restraints. She was bathed in sweat and was breathing hard. The handle on the door turned and it opened.  
  
Someone came in, but she couldn't see his face in the meager lighting. He spoke.  
  
"So, how are you?" Mac decided not to give him the satisfaction of a smart remark. He whirled around. "I said, how are you!" It was no longer a question, it was a command. Well, Mac didn't do well with commands.  
  
He walked over to her and brought his face closer to hers. "You should answer your husband."  
  
Mac lost her control. "Husband? I'm not your wife!"  
  
"We're betrothed. You broke the betrothal. I decided that I would make you my wife if it meant using force." He caressed her face and moved his face even closer. "I love you. You used to love me, but then you said you hated me. I never did anything to you." He kissed her softly. Mac was so stunned, she couldn't pull away. Then, he broke off the kiss and she regained her senses. She jerked the restraints and tried to punch him. He stepped back, laughing. He waited out of range until she had calmed down. Then, he moved back to her and put a gentle hand on her chest and moved his face practically onto hers. "Don't be afraid of me, Kedzie."  
  
That last sentence made Mac look at his face, but before she could see it, she woke up.  
  
Mac sat straight up, panting. She got up after a few minutes and walked out into the main room of the suites. She sat down on the couch and thought about her dream. 'I think I know that voice, but I don't think I was betrothed. Maybe it was only a dream; something my mind made up because I'm confused. Only thing is I've almost never had a dream so real before. I felt the cold of the restraints and the touch of his hand.' She shivered when she thought of that foul man touching her face. She could still feel it. That's what scared her.  
  
  
  
Duo walked in the room the next morning and saw a sleeping Mac on the couch. He walked over and pushed her hair out of her face and saw the troubled look on her face. Her eyes fluttered open and saw him staring questioningly at her and smiled.  
  
"What's the matter, Duo?" she asked. "You look puzzled, not like that's anything new, but you look funny."  
  
"Ha ha ha." He laughed sarcastically. "Did you sleep well? I was just wondering why you were out here on the couch."  
  
"Oh, I had a bad dream and came out here." Duo could tell that, that wasn't the whole truth.  
  
"Well, you can go back to bed. It's Saturday, no school." Duo said.  
  
"No, no. That's okay." Mac said quickly.  
  
"Mac, are you sure you're okay? You look really scared and no matter what you guys think, I'm not stupid." Duo said. "And I won't take a 'nothing' for an answer."  
  
"Okay, okay. I'll tell you." Mac said. "You're going to think it's really stupid though."  
  
Mac explained her story in a rush of words that Duo could hardly keep up with.  
  
"Whoa, some dream. It's a good thing I can keep up with the fast talking, because you were going over the speed limit!" Duo joked.  
  
" Funny, Duo." M ac said dryly. She rubbed her eyes and got up. "Well, I've got to take care of some business today." She went in her room and then got dressed.  
  
As she made her way to the trainee's halls, she rehearsed what she would say to Sam. She knocked on his door and waited impatiently. It opened and then a surprised Sam came out.  
  
"Mac! What are you doing here?" he asked. Mac had to admit that he didn't look very happy to see her.  
  
"I came to apologize." She muttered.  
  
"What?!" he was astonished.  
  
"That's right. I even though you were mean to me, I came to apologize. Be the better person. So, I'm sorry." Mac said. Sam looked happy, but then suspicious.  
  
"Did Duo make you do this, or did you do it on your own?"  
  
"Both."  
  
"Oh, well, if Duo made you, then you might as well just say it, because then you aren't really sorry, you're just saying it to get off the hook."  
  
"Whatever. Just thought I'd start the ball rolling again, but obviously Joe's got you brain washed just like I told you he would. So, I guess I'll see ya around." Mac said. She turned to walk away, but Sam put a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Listen Mac. I'm sorry too. Part of the reason why I haven't said sorry before, was because I was ashamed. I felt really bad about not standing up for you." Sam apologized. Mac looked at him and looked in him straight in the eyes. What Mac saw in his eyes scared her. She took a step back.  
  
"Okay, well, I have to do some errands for Duo. See ya!" she said as she ran off. She didn't stop until she was far away from him, but the love in his eyes was haunting her still. "What a creepy day."  
  
  
  
"What do you say tomorrow we go out?" Duo asked Mac that night.  
  
"I'd say that sounds wonderful!" Mac said sleepily.  
  
"It'd be just you and me and the town." Duo kept talking about the things that they could do the next day, but Mac had tuned out and soon fell asleep, despite the fact that she was still afraid to sleep.  
  
Duo looked at her when she didn't answer his question and saw that she was asleep.  
  
"That's not the first time your babbling has put someone to sleep, and it won't be the last." A voice came from the doorway. Duo looked up and glared.  
  
"Not funny, Heero."  
  
"I thought it was." Heero smirked and walked over to a chair and sat down. "You can't go by yourself to town tomorrow."  
  
"Heero-" Duo started.  
  
"No Duo. You know the danger. They're looking for her especially. We need to take the best precautions." Heero interrupted.  
  
"But she's just a kid. She still needs to have her fun. She's not like you Heero. She still has her feelings and wants." Duo protested. "She needs a day out."  
  
"Part of the reason why Commander Sally didn't expel her was because she needed to be under supervision." Heero said, still emotionless. Duo sighed in defeat.  
  
"I know, but can't we go anyways? If you went, then she'd have double the protection and she'd be safer." Duo asked wearily.  
  
"No. I don't want to spend my day shopping. Besides, Relena's coming tomorrow."  
  
"Not until night, and we'll be back before that. Also, I won't let her do too much shopping. It's not like I want to Mac my credit." Duo pointed out. Now it was Heero's turn to sigh in defeat. Duo's face lit up. "I knew you'd see it my way. A little compromise didn't hurt anyone."  
  
"It's just not my style." Heero muttered.  
  
"It is now." Duo said. "Good night Heero!" Duo picked up his sleeping sister and put her in her bed and then went into his room to go to bed.  
  
"Duo! Are you ready yet?" Mac called the next morning.  
  
"Almost!" Duo yelled back. "Just need to finish braiding my hair."  
  
"Do you want me to do it?"  
  
"NOOOO!" Duo yelled.  
  
"All right. No reason to get all hissy!" Mac turned around and checked her purse to make sure she had at least two of Duo's credit cards. Not that he knew, but he would later. She smiled evilly. She looked up as a door opened to the room and Heero came walking through, not looking happy at all. "Where are you going that you look so mad?"  
  
"With you." He replied. Mac didn't comprehend.  
  
"What?" she asked.  
  
"With you. I'm going with you and Duo." Heero walked past her. "Tell that stupid that I'm waiting in the car." Mac stood there, astonished. She had no idea why Heero wanted to come on a shopping spree with her and Duo, but if he wanted to come, as long as he stayed out of her way, she was fine with that. Maybe he just wanted a lift into town. Duo came walking out.  
  
"Duo, Heero said that he's waiting in the car so you should hurry up." Mac said.  
  
"Okay. He's so impatient." Duo grabbed his wallet. "Let's go." They walked out to the car that Heero had running and waiting. He sat in the driver's seat.  
  
"Do you think that's a good idea to have a suicidal manic in the driver's seat?" Mac asked Duo.  
  
"I don't know, but you won't get him out now. He thinks everyone is like him and can deal with surprises and pain. So, if he starts to drive too bad, get in a safe position for a crash." Duo said. Mac snickered as they got in the car. Heero glared at her, sensing that she was snickering at him.  
  
"Ready?" he asked. They nodded. He stepped on the gas and they shot off. Mac was caught unaware and she certainly didn't expect this speed. She scrunched herself up and started praying in Japanese. Heero looked in his rearview mirror at her and smirked.  
  
When they got to a parking space in the city, Heero stopped dead and gently parked the car. Duo and Heero unbuckled their seatbelts and opened their doors. Mac peeked open one eye and saw that they were there.  
  
"I'm alive!" she cried and jumped out of the tiny car.  
  
"Bit scared there, sis?" Duo teased.  
  
"Don't. Heero is the scariest driver in the world." Mac said fearfully. She looked back at him. "Where to first?"  
  
"Anywhere you want." Duo said.  
  
"Music! I need some CD's for my gundam." Mac said. Then she clamped her hand over her mouth. Duo shot her a look. "I know, I know. Keep your mouth shut. I got it."  
  
They headed for the music store, and then to a few more. Around lunch, Mac looked back and noticed, for the millionth time, that Heero was still with them, but following far behind. He had been in the stores, but hadn't looked at anything, just paused when she did and stopped when she did.  
  
"Duo," Mac whispered. "Is Heero going everywhere with us? He has been following us, but not looking at anything, just following."  
  
"Yeah, he's coming with us."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Well, ummm.." Duo stammered, not looking at Mac. "Because Sally told him too!" he burst out.  
  
"But why would she tell him too?"  
  
"Because people are after you. They are looking for you. We're not sure if it's to kill you or to turn to their side, but they're looking for you and we don't want to lose you. Heero is your bodyguard." Duo explained. They had stopped and where in a corner of a shop. Heero walked over to them and glared at Duo.  
  
"Duo, you can't keep your big mouth shut, can you?" Heero asked.  
  
"Oh, shit! I forgot you can read lips." Duo swore. "Sorry, man, but she asked, and I wasn't going to lie."  
  
"But you didn't have to spill the whole story." Heero glared. He turned to Mac. "Now that you know, you have to be extra careful. Pay attention to anyone staring or asking strange questions. Has anything weird happened lately?"  
  
"Well, on the plane, some guy asked me some questions about the Preventers and stuff, but ya know." Mac said thoughtfully.  
  
"Well, you didn't tell him anything about the gundams, did you?" Heero asked suspiciously.  
  
"Of course I did. I go and tell everyone I see. Why shouldn't I?" Mac asked.  
  
"What?" he asked.  
  
"I was being sarcastic." Mac said dryly. Heero glared at her more.  
  
"I don't need this." He said. "I was just doing my job."  
  
"Well, I was just being a teen-ager, get over it." Mac said, daring Heero to keep the war going. Heero just sighed and turned away.  
  
"Duo, I need to go to the bathroom." Mac said.  
  
"Okay, let's go to another store and then you can." They walked out and into the store next to it.  
  
"I'll wait out here, unless you want me to come in." Duo said hopefully.  
  
"No such luck today Duo." Mac said. She pretended to walk in the bathroom, but when Duo turned his back, she sneaked out the door. "Time to do some investigating on my own." Mac walked down the street and found the library and walked in. She knew it was only a matter of time before Duo found out that she was gone and then would come find her, so she needed to act fast.  
  
She found a room that held a table and a computer. She walked in there and logged on. She looked around to make sure no one was watching from outside, and hacked into the government's files on space. From there, she got into confidential files and read up on it. Most of it people knew already, so she needed to hack into it more to find the stuff on her and the other gundam pilots.  
  
"AHA!" she whispered when she found gundam pilot information. Now she could figure out what they wanted with her.  
  
The gundam pilots were kept out of the press for a while, but now are being watched by us. The girl is the main subject for now. Click here for her files.  
  
Mac clicked.  
  
Kedzie Rose Maxwell  
  
Female  
  
16  
  
Auburn hair  
  
Hazel colored eyes  
  
5'8  
  
Mac scrolled down, skipping over the facts that she already knew about herself.  
  
Heero Yuy has followed subject since she was transported back to the Preventer's base. She just noticed it, but that was only today. We've been having them watched by storeowners and civilians.  
  
Mac was mildly surprised by this, but moved on. She clicked on something by accident. Something flashed on her screen and it went blank for a minute, and then opened up.  
  
Dear Sir:  
  
Subject has been noticed being followed by Heero Yuy. May want to check into that. Move fast. She's caught on. Today.  
  
KJ  
  
KJ:  
  
Thank you for the notice. I will.  
  
BO  
  
Mac was surprised. She didn't know what to make of the cryptic messages, but she knew that she needed to go back to Duo right away. She turned off the computer and then walked briskly out the door. She knew she was being followed and watched right now. She jogged back to the store. She looked at her watch and saw she had been gone for forty-five minutes.  
  
"Duo's gonna freak." She groaned. She picked up her pace and turned into down a street. She paused when she realized that this wasn't a street, it was an ally. She just kept going and couldn't remember if she came this way. She had gotten almost to the end, when someone jumped out in front of her. They progressed aggressively towards her and she turned around fast. She turned right into a cloth. She quickly found out that the cloth had cloraphrome in it. Before she could put up a fight, she had slipped into blissful unconsciousness. 


	10. Chapter 10

Mac woke up later to a dark room and blurry vision. She attempted to raise her hands to rub her eyes clear, but she couldn't move her hands. They each felt ten million pounds. She blinked several times, but even that was an effort. She closed her eyes again and did so for a few minutes.  
  
She was conducting an internal check. 'Bones?' she asked herself. 'None broken. Muscles? Sore. Movement? Possible, but hard.' She kept it up, until she found she could move fine, but she was sore and stiff.  
  
Mac knew that she was standing, but leaning against a wall or board or something. The room around her had a little light in the middle, but it gave off very little light. 'This is familiar.' She thought, but couldn't place it. She felt an urgency to remember what this place was, but just couldn't. She checked out the room around her more, seeing if it would help her remember.  
  
It was a little smaller than a regular sized room and its walls were lined with syringes and torture instruments. All except one wall and the corners near it. That one wall was the one she was leaning against and it was made so she couldn't reach anything. 'Oh, I hope that they do it quick.' She thought.  
  
Her head snapped up at a sound. She identified it as footsteps. She felt the remembrance coming closer and closer. It was now right on the tip of her tongue. The handle on the door turned slowly and a figure walked into the shadows. He went over to a table with syringes on it and fiddled with them. Mac gasped as the realization hit her. 'It's my dream!' she thought fervently.  
  
The figure turned a little and Mac thought she could see it smiling. "How are you?" Mac played along with her dream and didn't respond. The figure whirled around and brought his face close her hers. "I said, how are you." Mac recognized the command. She was no longer going to play into his hands. She knew the outcome. She had the dream more than once; she was going to take this into her own hands.  
  
"I know who you are." She said dangerously. This brought a look of surprise on her attacker's face. She couldn't make out his face completely, but enough to be sure of her suspicions. He recovered from his surprise and sneered.  
  
"Really? And how would that be?" he asked mockingly.  
  
"You're a brutal beast and I can't believe I ever trusted you." Mac retorted. The man responded as if she had slapped him. He recoiled and then brought his face even closer.  
  
"I think you knew it all along."  
  
"I didn't. You're a very good actor. I'm very impressed, but that's about all. You were my friend and more. I trusted you and you even had my family trusting you." Mac choked out. She tried not to show her emotions, but they had run haywire. "You were my very best friend, but you betrayed me! I don't ever remember being betrothed to you!"  
  
"I don't know how you knew we were betrothed or who I am, but that doesn't matter. What matters now, is that you are here and you are mine. You know you want to be. No matter how you denied it, you always loved me." He said.  
  
"No. I looked up to you and thought you were the best. You were closest to family I got for a long time." Mac retorted. She almost forgot she was in restraints and her hands clenched. "If I could, I would beat you to a pulp, but you obviously remember my punch."  
  
"Such harsh words and actions. You know you don't hate me. You love me as much as I love you." He leaned closer and caught her up in a kiss. She gave in for a minute, but then remembered the circumstances and pulled back.  
  
"BACK OFF YOU PERV!" she yelled. "I hate you. I always have and always will. I will never be your wife."  
  
"You will be my queen and we will rule the universe together. You will forever be by my side. Even when I execute the gundam pilots. You will be the perfect tool for my army. You are a woman and once on the side of good, so everyone will think you still work for the Preventers. Then, you will convince them all that I'm the good guy and the ones who rebel, you will destroy. You will be able to because you have the training." He coaxed.  
  
"Never." She hissed.  
  
"Oh, my poor Kedzie. You're just not making this easy on yourself. You will whether you want to or not. If you just consent now, you will be taken out of the restraints and let upstairs. You will even be able to have the run of the house." He promised.  
  
"I will never, ever be your wife Brian." She stated. Brian smiled sadly and pressed the pressure point on the back of her neck. He didn't press hard enough to knock her unconscious, but hard enough to temporarily paralyze her. She yelped in pain and surprise, but then fell limp. Brian unlocked her from her restraints and then caught her limp body and carried her like a small child.  
  
She lay in his arms, unable to move and disgusted. She tried to talk, to move, to do anything, but couldn't.  
  
"My poor Kedzie. My poor, poor Kedzie. I didn't want to have to use force, but you wouldn't listen." He crooned. He caressed her skin and kissed her gently. She looked out from her eyes, and felt a prisoner of her own body. She couldn't handle it so she closed her eyes and wished herself far away.  
  
When she opened her eyes, she looked down at herself being carried by Brian up the stairs. He carried her with such tenderness and grace, that she almost consented to being his wife, but his intentions were cruel. She closed her eyes again and when she opened them back up, she was back inside her body. Brian had carried her to a beautiful corridor and was heading towards the far end.  
  
She could feel tingling in her face, but that was all. She croaked out "why" and it was barely audible.  
  
"You didn't think I'd let you stay in that dreadful, dreary, torturous place did you?" he laughed, but not a sincere laugh. "Kedzie, you know me better than that."  
  
Mac would have said that she doesn't know him at all, but she couldn't talk anymore. It took all her strength to just say why. He carried her into a room and lay her down on the bed. It was a large room with a canopy on the huge king size bed. It was fairy tale like. It reminded her of the castles of the medieval times.  
  
Seeing the question in her eyes, Brian answered, "Yes, we're in a castle. Don't ask where, because I won't tell you, but yes I came across a castle and fixed it up a little bit. Quite nice, considering it was once an old shabby palace." Mac let herself rest; she felt like she had been stomped on by her gundam. "I love you, Kedzie." Brian breathed. He was suddenly very close. She tried to move away, but only succeeded in rocking the other way. Brian drew back. "I see you're not ready yet, but when you are, you and I will finally be king and queen."  
  
Mac just let herself slip into the wonderful world of sleep.  
  
  
  
"Mac? Come on Mac. I've been waiting forever!" Duo called into the ladies bathroom. There was no answer. Duo remembered after he had turned around, seeing a figure go out the door before. He had thought it was funny because he thought he and Mac were the only ones in the store.  
  
Duo took a deep breath, and pushed open the door to the bathroom. He stepped inside and saw that no one was in there. No feet under the stalls, no people by the sinks, no one. Duo swore under his breath. He ran out and found Heero standing outside, smirking.  
  
"Duo now's not the time to be harassing women." He said smugly. Duo frowned.  
  
"Not funny Heero. Mac said she had to go to the bathroom about twenty minutes ago, and I thought she went in there, but she's not in there." Heero's smirk was immediately replaced with a frown.  
  
"Then, we need to find her quick." The two men jogged down the street. Duo was looking both ways and then, he stopped dead.  
  
"What is it?" Heero asked, stopping beside him.  
  
"I just saw a girl that looked like Mac go down."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"There were these guys and one guy was holding a cloth and pressed it up against her face and she went limp and they dragged her away." Heero sighed.  
  
"Let's go. It might be her." They took off in that direction.  
  
  
  
When Mac woke up, it was dark in her room. She let her eyes get accustomed to the dark and then made her way around the room to loosen up her muscles. She had paused for a minute, when she saw light under her door, coming closer and footsteps. She climbed back on the bed and waited. She was going to talk to Brian. He walked in and walked over to her. He brushed a piece of her hair away from her face.  
  
"Brian."  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"I'll be your wife."  
  
"I knew you'd agree."  
  
"On a few conditions."  
  
"I'm listening."  
  
"You can't take over the world."  
  
"No. I'm sorry, but I can get you to be my wife on my own conditions."  
  
"No, Brian. I won't stay with you. I'm too strong for you to brainwash and force. I have to much mind and spirit."  
  
"I know that, but I figured you'd see how wonderful it was."  
  
"I don't see anything wonderful about making peoples lives hell."  
  
"It wouldn't be hell."  
  
"It would be. You'd create a war and you know it. There would be no easy going. You have an army because you know it's true."  
  
"No, it's going to be my way." Mac sighed sadly.  
  
"Brian, don't make me kill you. I really don't want to." Brian laughed at her remark.  
  
"Kedzie, you make it sound so easy."  
  
"It won't be. I would live with the nightmare forever, but if it meant stopping you from causing a war, then I would kill you. I don't mind fighting war, but I hate it when it's for no reason." Mac said. Brian moved closer to Mac.  
  
"Mac, I love you. I'm doing this for you. You know you love me and you want to be my wife." He held her in his arms and she didn't fight him.  
  
"I guess I do love you, but I won't hesitate to kill you."  
  
"Don't talk in such a way. I know you're lying."  
  
"If you know me so well, then you should know that I'm speaking the truth." Mac whispered. Brian lifted her face and looked her in the eye.  
  
"Tell me the truth." Brian murmured.  
  
"I had always looked up to you like a brother, but you've more than that lately. You've been more gentle with me and nicer to me. I guess I've always loved you in brotherly-sisterly way, but it's progressed over time. I didn't even notice." Mac confessed. Then, she looked him dead on with determination in her eyes. "But," her voice came out strong and loud. "I will not hesitate to kill you to help my friends or family. They come first. You would be a wonderful tool for the Preventers. Come on my side Brian. I'd gladly be your wife then." Brian sighed.  
  
"I'm not so sure that that's the best idea. I have my plans and everything is so far ahead, I can't turn back." Brian said. "I also can't let you go now because you know my plans and would turn me in. Now, will you be my queen anyway?"  
  
"No." Mac stated. "I told you. No Brian." Brian and Mac had sat down on the bed talking to each other in low whispers. Brian kissed her and Mac didn't know what to do. Part of her said 'go with him! Be his wife and control the universe! Think of the power!' but the other part said, 'Pull away! Run away and get as far away from him as you can.' Mac pulled away as he lay her down next to him.  
  
"Brian, I don't know you anymore." Mac said, still lying down. "You've turned into a stranger. I never knew this power mad, twisted man."  
  
"You don't mean that."  
  
"I do. I have no idea who you are. You're power mad and twisted and you don't care about anyone but yourself. You called me a tool instead of a person. You just want me because I'll look pretty sitting next to you and I'll just be a tool for you."  
  
"Kedzie, you know very well that's not true. I care for you more than anything and I've been planning for this forever." Brian protested. He pulled her closer to him. "Kedzie, I want you to be with me. I want you to rule with me. We'd make such a good pair for the universe. You and your battle experience and me and my fairness." Mac gave an unladylike snort.  
  
"Fairness? You? Ha! If you were a fair person, you wouldn't go and start a war just for you own selfish needs. No, Brian, you certainly are not a fair person."  
  
"Kedzie, you are wearing my patience thin. We'll talk tomorrow." Brian wrapped her in his arms and kissed her again, more softly and passionately.  
  
Mac was busy thinking. She was thinking about the past and present. She remembered Brian asking if she was jealous that he had another girlfriend and secretly she was. She hadn't really known it then, but that was because she refused to acknowledge it and ruin their friendship because she had a crush. Now, she realized that he had liked her too, and had only set her up with Zach so that she could break up with Zach and go running to Brian. She also realized that she did sincerely want to be with Brian, but she didn't want to be his queen. 'Oh well,' She thought. 'For now, I'll be his girlfriend.' And she gave herself up to him for that night.  
  
"I'm so glad you accepted." He murmured to her as she kissed him back, and they got lost in each other's arms for the remainder of the night. 


	11. Chapter 11

"They went in there?" Heero asked Duo.  
  
"I saw them. They brought her in there and shut the gate." Duo said.  
  
"It's abandoned, Duo." Heero said, looking at the castle.  
  
"They did! I don't lie! They brought her in there!" Duo insisted. "Heero, have you ever heard a kidnapping story where the kidnappers bring the kid in a public place where everyone can see them? No, they go for the abandoned places." Duo reasoned.  
  
"Fine. Let's go get her." Heero looked at his watch. "No! Wait, we have to go get her later."  
  
"What?" Duo asked, appalled.  
  
"We have to go pick up Relena. She didn't want to land in the Preventer place, she wanted to land in the civilian port for some reason." Heero said.  
  
"But we're here! This could mean my sister's life!" Duo yelled.  
  
"Well, Relena's life could be at stake too." Heero said. Duo sighed dramatically and followed Heero as they backtracked their way to the car.  
  
Duo pouted the whole way in the car, in his mind horrible scenes with masked men hurting his sister were playing out. He changed it every time and something different happened.  
  
"Duo stop fidgeting!" Heero snapped. Duo looked up at Heero. "I can't stand it when you do that." Duo just looked out the window again. Heero pulled up at the airport and looked around. He stopped when she saw a crowd gathered around in one place. 'Relena' he thought. He strode over there and pushed the crowd aside.  
  
"Heero!" Relena cried. She ran to him and enveloped him in a hug. He hugged her back and they walked, arm in arm, back to the car with Duo following sadly behind. Relena leaned over to Heero in the car. "What's wrong with Duo?"  
  
"You know how I told you he has a sister? Well, she got kidnapped and we had to leave her in order to go get you." Heero said.  
  
"Heero! You should have gotten her! She might get killed." Relena protested.  
  
"We had to get you first. I figured you could help. Not that I want to put you in danger, but you could help." Heero said.  
  
"Oh, okay." Relena said. She sat back in her chair. They rode the rest of the way in silence.  
  
"Okay, here's the plan." Heero said as he stopped the car about a half a mile away from the castle.  
  
"You guys ran all the way out here? That's ridiculous!" Relena said. She had noticed that it was about five miles from the city.  
  
"We didn't run all the way. I saw them from about two miles back since this place is bare." Duo said.  
  
"As I was saying," Heero said. "Relena, you follow me until I tell you to go. Duo you find a way in, my guess is she's in the tower. You go up there. I'm going to try to find the assassin."  
  
Duo looked surprised. "Heero, you sure do know your fairy tales!"  
  
Heero glared at Duo and got out of the car. He gave Relena a gun and she just nodded and shoved it in her pocket. Then, he and Relena took off running in one direction, and Duo took off in the other. He ran over to the tower and stood at the bottom looking up.  
  
"Hmm, to tall and narrow to climb. No doors. Aha!" Duo pulled out his little helicopter thing. "Let's see if this thing works going up." He flipped in on and it lifted him off the ground and he rose up and up. He was about fifteen feet above ground when it ran out of batteries. It stopped. "Uh oh!" Duo said. He fell down and lay in heap for a few minutes, then jumped up. "I'M ALIVE!"  
  
"Not for long." Someone said. Duo turned around and saw someone standing in a doorway. 'Doorway? Oh, this sucks! Why didn't I see that?' Duo thought.  
  
"Who are you?" Duo asked.  
  
"A personal assistant to BO also known as KJ." The man said.  
  
"BO? That's all? No name or anything? That's the assassin's name?" Duo asked.  
  
"The A and O are his initials, you stupid." The man said. Then, he punched Duo in the stomach and Duo slumped unconscious. The man took him to the dungeon and chained him up.  
  
"Humph. You talk to much." The man said to the unconscious Duo.  
  
A few minutes later, Duo woke up. "Ugh." He groaned as he sat up. He groped for his radio and brought it up to his mouth. "Heero. Help. Dungeon." He said.  
  
"Stupid." Came Heero's voice. Duo struggled to stand up and when he did, he groaned loudly. The door swung open and Heero stood in the doorway. "Hurry."  
  
Duo followed Heero at a jog and somehow got out of the dungeon without running into any guards.  
  
"Where's-" Duo started to ask, but Heero cut him off.  
  
"Helping." Heero said. They ran on and straight into a group of guards. They stopped and Heero pulled his gun out of nowhere as he always did. Duo pulled out his gun and trained it on one of the guards.  
  
"We have to hurry if we want to get Mac." Duo said. Heero shook his head.  
  
"Already taken care of." And shot a guard. They both shot or punched all the guards and made their way to the tower. When they got there, they had to climb several flights of stairs till they got to the top.  
  
As they got to the top, they saw a man in the corner and Mac had a gun trained on him. Relena was sitting on the bed watching the scene play out.  
  
"Heero Yuy and Duo Maxwell. How nice to meet you both finally." The man said.  
  
"Shut up Brian. I don't want you conferring with my brother and my friends." Mac said in a harsh voice.  
  
"Kedzie, what happened to the woman I was with a few minutes ago? She was-" Brian said.  
  
"I said shut up. That woman wasn't me. She was a weakling. She was a pacifist. I thought you could be trusted, but then, when we were in bed, you still talked about killing the gundam pilots. I'm a gundam pilot." Mac said. Duo and Heero were still standing there, not knowing what was happening.  
  
"I would never kill you, my Kedzie." Brian said. "I would never hurt you. You're my queen."  
  
"Stop calling me that. I'm not your queen. I thought I would be your wife, but never your queen. I know better now. You may love me, but you'd use me to get to my friends and my colleagues." Mac snapped very harshly. Brian recoiled as if she had slapped him.  
  
"Kedzie, I thought you said you loved me too." Brian tried.  
  
"I do. No! I don't." Mac fought with herself. Brian had been inching his hand towards his pocket and he reached in a pulled out a gun and trained in on Duo.  
  
"Kedzie, two can play at that game. I'm sorry I have to kill your brother in front of you. I was planning on letting you miss that, but now, it's too late." Brian's finger started to push back on the trigger and time seemed to switch into slow motion.  
  
Mac watched in horror as Brian started to pull the trigger on his gun and Duo stood, frozen. Duo couldn't move and neither could Heero. They were wedged in the doorway and couldn't reach for their guns or even move out of the way. Mac looked back and forth for something to stop this horrific event. She realized she was still holding her gun and, before she knew what she was doing, she had lifted it and shot at Brian. Brian's finger never quite pulled the trigger, so Duo was safe.  
  
Mac watched Brian slowly fall to the floor and the realization hit Mac, full force. She cried out and ran to him. Duo said later that she had screamed as she ran to him. When Brian hit the floor, time seemed to move back into regular mode. Mac threw herself on the floor next to him and held him.  
  
"I didn't hit him, did I?" Mac asked, not wanting to face the fact that she had hit him square in the chest.  
  
"Kedzie." Brian gasped. "I know you just wanted to protect your brother."  
  
"Shh, you'll be fine. Just, don't talk." Mac shushed, tears streaming down her face.  
  
"I.Love.You." And with the last cliché words, Brian died in Mac's arms.  
  
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Mac screamed. She put her head down on his and cried. Everyone else stood around in uncomfortable silence, listening to Mac's racking, heartbreaking sobs.  
  
Duo finally made his way over to her, but Relena met his eyes above Mac's head and shook her head. Duo nodded and walked out the door, pulling Heero with him. Relena sat down next to Mac and touched her shoulder.  
  
"Come on. We need to go." Relena whispered. Mac nodded and stood up with Relena and walked out the door, holding on to Relena for support. Mac paused at the doorway and looked back. She saw Brian lying in a small pool of his own blood. Relena gently pushed Mac out the door and helped her down the stairs. The group got in the car and the two talkative pilots were, for once, silent. 


	12. Chapter 12

Mac slept for two days straight. When she woke up, she walked out into the living room of the suites and found everyone sitting around there, talking in hushed tones.  
  
"Well, look who decided to join us." Duo said in an overly cheerful, loud voice.  
  
"Gah." She grunted.  
  
"Oh! We have an early cave woman." Duo teased.  
  
"Blah to you." She said, curling up around a pillow on the couch. "Miss Relena, I want to thank you."  
  
"Please, Mac. It's Relena, and we have no need to be formal with each other when we aren't in public." Relena said.  
  
"Okay, thanks Relena. I'm really grateful that you were there yesterday." Mac corrected.  
  
"You mean two days ago." Duo said. Mac's jaw dropped.  
  
"I slept for TWO DAYS?" she asked.  
  
"Yep. You were wiped." Duo said.  
  
"Heero, thanks for helping. I know you don't like me, so it means all the more." Mac said. Heero looked at Relena for support. Relena laughed.  
  
"Oh Mac! Heero doesn't dislike you. He just doesn't know how to show his affection." Relena said. "I should know, he tried to kill me oh so many times."  
  
"I know about that." Mac said. "So, you don't hate me? This is new. Here I thought that I had done something to offend you." Then, came a knock on the door. Duo went over an opened it.  
  
"Yes?" he asked.  
  
"A message for you and your friends, sir." The man said.  
  
"Thanks." Duo closed the door and he came over and opened the note. He read it out loud to the group. "Dear pilots and Relena:  
  
I have a few matters of business to work out with you. First off, we have a job opening for a certain girl if she wants to take it. Come see me to learn more about it. Secondly, we have had wonderful news. It seems that when you disappeared yesterday, the leader of the new terrorist group was killed. None of his successors survived and the only remaining people were soldiers. They all came over peacefully and are now in custody. I wonder if you had anything to do with that?  
  
Sally"  
  
Duo looked up and smiled. "A job? Are you going to take it?"  
  
"Maybe, but I need to find out more about it." Mac said, sMilling. The group separated to go and teach their students. Relena and Mac were left in the room alone and they looked around.  
  
"Mac, I know it was hard for you to kill him yesterday, but you had to protect your brother." Relena said finally.  
  
"I know." Mac said.  
  
"You still blame yourself though." Relena pointed out.  
  
"Of course I do!" Mac yelled. "I killed him! I pointed a gun and pulled the trigger! I killed him. I'm to blame."  
  
"Didn't you say you warned him before that if he tried to kill your brother and friends, you wouldn't hesitate to kill him?" Relena asked.  
  
"Of course, but I loved him!" Mac choked out. She realized it was true. She did. "I loved him the way he was before he turned into the horrible man. He even revealed that boy that I loved the night before."  
  
Relena raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. "But you proved who you loved more. Your brother, or Brian. I must say, you chose the right one. If you had let him kill Duo, you'd kill yourself. By killing Brian, you proved yourself even stronger than you thought you were."  
  
Mac broke down again and cried. Relena held Mac as she cried. "A sixteen- year-old doesn't need to put up with this." Relena whispered.  
  
"I'm not sixteen anymore." Mac said. Relena looked at her.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'm not sixteen. I turned seventeen the day I killed Brian." Mac said. She smiled. "He gave me my birthday present before he died. Actually, he gave me two."  
  
"And what were they?" Relena asked.  
  
"Well, one of them was this." Mac held up a necklace. Relena looked closely at it and gasped.  
  
"That's real silver!" she said.  
  
"I know. It has our names engraved in it and it has a secret to it." Mac said.  
  
"What's the secret?" Relena asked.  
  
"If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret." Mac said.  
  
"Okay, so what was the second present?" Mac blushed and Relena smiled. "Oh."  
  
  
  
"What do you think they're talking about?" Duo asked Heero.  
  
"Who?" he asked.  
  
"Mac and Relena. I see them in the room through the window. Relena's looking at something Mac's got." Duo said. Duo pulled out a pair of binoculars from their holder in the wall next to him. He looked through them. "Heero, look at them and read their lips."  
  
Heero did and told Duo what they were saying. "Relena said 'What was the second present.' And Mac's blushing. Now, Relena's sMilling."  
  
Duo leaned up against the doorframe. "I wonder what she means."  
  
Heero gave him a look. "My guess is that they were talking about what Brian gave her."  
  
"Oh." Duo paused. "OH! If he weren't dead, I'd kill him!" Heero smirked.  
  
  
  
"Gosh, what's taking them so long?" Duo asked Heero. Heero shrugged.  
  
"I'd rather not go at all. It's a trainee graduation dance." Heero muttered. Just then, the girls came out of Mac's room and Duo let out a whistle.  
  
"I wish you were my date tonight." Duo said.  
  
"Which one of us?" Mac asked.  
  
"Both." Duo said. Heero growled low in his throat at Duo and walked over to Relena and offered his arm. Duo smirked evilly. He went over to Mac and mockingly bowed low and offered his arm. "I will escort you to the ball and then I will sadly let you go to your date."  
  
"Duo, stop teasing me." She blushed. She had a pale blue, shimmering dress on. It was a long, straight dress that went to her feet. Her auburn hair was up in a lose bun with little pieces falling down and framing her freckled face.  
  
They made their way down to the gym. It was transformed. All the weights and equipment were gone and it had streamers and lights all over. A D.J. was up on a makeshift stage. Someone came over to Duo and Mac.  
  
"Duo, can I have my date?" Sam asked.  
  
"Do you really want her? I mean, she's not a virg-" Duo started. Mac elbowed him and blushed from head to toe.  
  
"That's fine. Neither am I." Sam said.  
  
"Didn't need to know that!" Mac said. "Too much information being exchanged here." She grabbed Sam's arm and pulled him away from Duo who was grinning evilly. She shot him a murderous look as she went with Sam. "Ignore him." She told Sam.  
  
They spent the rest of the night dancing and eating and talking.  
  
Meanwhile.  
  
"Heero?"  
  
"Hn?"  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"Coming with me. Coming to this dance."  
  
"Welcome."  
  
"I really enjoy dancing. Especially with you. Do you remember the first time we danced?"  
  
"Yes." Relena laid her head on Heero's shoulder and Heero smiled down at her. When the song was over, they sat down.  
  
"I'm really glad you're here, Relena. I-I missed you." Heero murmured. Relena was touched because Heero hardly ever showed emotions.  
  
"I'm glad I'm here too." She replied. He leaned down and kissed her.  
  
"You know, you don't have to sleep on the couch." He murmured in her ear.  
  
  
  
"I had a great time tonight Sam." Mac said.  
  
"Me too." Sam said. They were standing outside her door.  
  
"Sam. I need to tell you something." Mac said.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I got a job here. I'm going to be training next years trainees." She said.  
  
"Good for you!" he said enthusiastically. "I have something to tell you too."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I've been elected to be the head of the new trainees at base." He said.  
  
"Oh! That means that you'll be here! With me!" Mac burst out.  
  
"I didn't know you cared." He teased.  
  
"Oh, but I do. I know that sounds cheesy, but I've been cold long enough." She said. Sam looked in her eyes.  
  
"I'm glad you chose me." He whispered. He leaned down and kissed her gently. She was surprised, but she didn't pull away; she liked it. He pulled away and looked at her.  
  
"I'll see you tomorrow." She whispered.  
  
"Ok. Oh, do you want to go out to dinner tomorrow?" Sam asked.  
  
"Sure." Mac went inside her room and shut the door, running her fingers over her lower lip.  
  
"Mac? Mac are you there?" a voice came over the computer.  
  
"Milli?" she asked.  
  
"Noin went into labor awhile ago and we now have children! I'm a dad!" he said.  
  
"Congrats! Well!" Mac yelled.  
  
"Twins! One boy, one girl!" Milliardo said. "Rose Kedzie and Brandon Patrick."  
  
"Oh Milli! You named your girl after me! That's so nice! Thank you!" Mac squealed.  
  
"Noin's idea." Milliardo said.  
  
"I can come spend the summer with you guys helping with the babies, if you want." Mac offered.  
  
"That would be great. I can't wait to see you. Neither can Noin." Milliardo said. "Bye."  
  
"Bye." Mac signed off and lay on her bed. "Babies. Two of them. One named after me! Wow, what a year." And with that thought in her head, Mac rolled over and fell asleep.  
  
  
  
  
  
Author's Note: Okay minna! I hope it made you happy, it made me happy. I don't know how the ending was, but it was kinda a happily ever after kinda thing. Do Mac and Sam get married? I dunno. It's up to them. I don't control them, they just started as mine, but now they have minds of their own. Do Heero and Relena get married? I dunno. A lot of peeps say they should, I think I'll leave that to the anime people over in Japan. Like I said, I want feedback. 


End file.
